Friday, June 22, 2007

Henry poised for move to Barcelona


LONDON, England (CNN) -- Arsenal's French international striker Thierry Henry was poised to join Barcelona on Friday, a source from the Spanish club told CNN.
"In the next several hours Barcelona Football Club will be ready to announce the signing of Thierry Henry from Arsenal Football Club, but it is not official yet," the source said.
"The deal would be worth around 24 million euros (£16m; $32m)and would keep Henry at Barcelona for the next four years.
"There are still some legal details that need to be confirmed. We expect these details to be confirmed and when they are we will issue a release on Barcelona FC's Web site confirming Thierry Henry's signing, probably on Saturday," the source said.
Henry has been with Arsenal since 1999, scoring a club record 226 goals in 364 appearances for the Gunners. He helped the London club win two Premier League titles and four FA Cups.
Henry still had three years left on his contract with the Gunners, but speculation about his departure increased after Arsenal failed to win a trophy last season and finished only fourth in the Premier League for the second year in a row.
Henry acknowledged he was upset that David Dein, who was responsible for bringing manager Arsene Wenger to the club in 1996, quit as vice-chairman of Arsenal.
Wenger, who has led Arsenal to three Premier League and four FA Cup triumphs, has said he has no plans to follow Dein away from the club. But he, too, has been linked with a possible move to Spain
Henry spent much of last season sidelined because of stomach and groin injuries. But he remains one of the game's biggest stars with his ability to score top-quality goals and beat defenses with his fast runs and dribbling.
Henry also helped the Gunners reach the Champions League final in 2006, only for Arsenal to lose to Barcelona.
He was frustrated that Arsenal did not strengthen their playing squad with big names and expressed his disappointment when the Gunners sold Patrick Vieira to Juventus two years ago.
Precocious
Henry started off his career as a precocious winger with Monaco under Wenger's tutelage in 1994 a year before the latter headed off to Grampus Eight in Japan.
After playing a cameo role in France's World Cup win on home soil in 1998 Henry, a product of the hugely productive French training center at Clairefontaine outside Paris, joined Juventus in 1998 after 28 goals in 129 games for the Monegasques, winning the 1997 French title.
Henry played barely half a season and scored only three goals in 16 starts for the 'Zebras' before heading back to the Riviera for a brief spell.
Arsenal then came calling with Wenger at the helm in 1999 and after the professorial coach turned his protege into a center-forward Henry blossomed into one of the greatest players in the world, scoring more than a goal every other game over eight seasons.
He also won the 2000 European Championship with France and was European Golden boot winner in 2004 and 2005.
.

No comments: