Thierry Henry powered Arsenal, Barcelona and France to glory with his unique blend of pace, skill and ferocious finishing... he'll be remembered as one of the classiest players to grace the game
- Thierry Henry has announced his retirement from football at the age of 37 to join Sky Sports as a pundit
- The French striker leaves an indelible mark on the game, having redefined the position of centre forward
- He won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups with Arsenal between 1999 and 2007
- Henry is the club's all-time record goalscorer with 228 in 376 appearances
- With Barcelona, Henry added the European Cup in 2009 having lost in the 2006 final with Arsenal
- He was part of the France squad that won the World Cup in 1998 and he added the European Championships in 2000
Thierry Henry announced his retirement with the same grace as he has conducted his entire career on and off the pitch.
The 37-year-old, who played his last game of football for New York Red Bulls last month, an unremarkable 2-2 draw, will join Sky Sports' stable of football experts in 2015.
He leaves his playing days behind having made an indelible mark on the game. With Arsenal, he won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups between 1999 and 2007. Outside the Emirates Stadium they have a statue of their beloved Frenchman. At Barcelona he added the Champions League trophy in 2009 and with France he lifted the World Cup.
But his greatest legacy is not marked by silverware or set in stone. Instead it can be seen in the dynamism of centre forwards across the land.
VIDEO Scroll down for Cazorla, Giroud, Fabregas and more pay tribute to Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry, seen here for Arsenal in 2006, has announced his retirement from playing football and has joined Sky as a pundit
Henry proudly displays one of the many trophies he won in an illustrious career - the Premier League title with the 2004 'Invincibles'
Henry celebrates in trademark fashion, with arms outstretched and mouth roaring, after scoring for Arsenal against Juventus in March 2006
Henry will become a pundit on Sky Sports, joining the likes of Jamie Redknapp, Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Graeme Souness
A study of Henry's effortless technique as he shoots for goal during the 2004 Champions League quarter-final with Chelsea
Henry scores past Francesco Toldo in one of Arsenal's most famous wins - the 5-1 rout of Inter Milan in the San Siro back in 2003
The Frenchman swings in a corner during the first league match to be staged at the Emirates Stadium - against Aston Villa in 2006
Henry’s arrival in the Premier League as a 20-year-old altered the role of the striker for ever. He came to Arsenal from Juventus, having struggled to get to grips with Italian football.
Compatriot Arsene Wenger, who had given Henry his professional debut at Monaco, the club where he spent his youth career, thought he would be better suited to English football. He was not disappointed. Henry ran with the ball, picked out pinpoint passes, confounded defenders with dizzying feet and glided the ball past the keeper.
All of a sudden it was no longer sufficient to simply poach goals or be a burly presence in the box, bundling goals in by hook or by crook. Managers wanted their own Henry, someone with his raw pace who could score goals from any part of the pitch.
He became Arsenal’s all-time top goalscorer, with 228 goals for the Gunners. Pretty remarkable for a player who later said: ‘I wasn’t born with a gift for goals.’
Henry in action for Monaco, his first club, against Moreno Torricelli of Juventus in a 1998 Champions League semi-final, second leg
The French camp ahead of the 1998 World Cup. (Left to right) Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Frank Leboeuf and Lionel Charbonnier
Henry hurdles South Africa goalkeeper Hans Vonk after firing the ball into the net during a group stage match at the 1998 World Cup
Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly rush to join in the celebrations after Henry's goal in the match against South Africa
Henry and Youri Djorkaeff kiss the World Cup trophy after France's famous 3-0 win over Brazil at the Stade de France in Paris
Henry moved from Monaco to Arsenal in August 1999 for a fee of around £11m, a reunion with former boss Arsene Wenger
Henry athletically fires off a shot during a Premiership match with Leicester City in August 1998, one of his first appearances for Arsenal
Henry chasing down England's Martin Keown during a September 2000 friendly match at the Stade de France in Paris
Henry hushes the home crowd as Arsenal beat Lens of France 3-1 on aggregate to progress to the UEFA Cup final in 2000
What marked Henry out was his intelligence. Off the pitch, he is eloquent in two languages. Couple that with a great football brain, an ability to know instinctively where he should be at any given time.
He was a student of the game, too, exhaustively watching videos of himself and others playing and working tirelessly on the training ground to perfect his finishing.
He scored his first goal in England against Southampton and was already marked out for greatness. His then team-mate Martin Keown later recalled: ‘I said to him that I would be able to tell my grandchildren that I had played with him. And I rarely congratulated people! He looked at me astonished.’
Henry’s debut campaign returned 26 goals in all competitions in 47 appearances and he scored eight times as Arsenal reached the UEFA Cup final. A maiden trophy for the player had to wait as Arsenal went down on penalties to Turkish side Galatasaray.
His first Premier League title came in 2001-02 and he played a pivotal part, scoring 32 times in 49 games, with 24 in the league.
But it was Henry’s role in Arsenal’s Invincibles side of the 2003-04 season, for which he is remembered most fondly in north London. He scored 30 goals in 37 Premier League games as the Gunners went the entire league season unbeaten.
Henry is congratulated by Ray Parlour after his wondrous goal against Manchester United at Highbury in October 2000
Henry embarrassed his French compatriot Fabien Barthez by flicking the ball up on the edge of the box and looping a shot over his head
Henry rises above the Spartak Moscow defence to head home a late winner in a March 2001 Champions League tie
The Frenchman attempts a spectacular overhead kick in the 2001 FA Cup final with Liverpool - Arsenal lost the match 2-1
‘The key for me was the all-togetherness,’ Henry later said of that Arsenal team. 'The unselfishness of everybody. The generosity of that team was outstanding, and we always wanted to share with each other. And that’s something that is pretty rare.’
The only disappointment of that campaign was defeat by Claudio Ranieri's Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final.
Henry, and most members of the Invincibles, never reached those heights again, but then nobody has since. Henry stayed at Arsenal for another three seasons, collecting the FA Cup in 2005.
Wenger suggested that his future return was a certainty. 'He is an Arsenal man,' he said. 'The best moment, certainly, of his life and of his career has been experienced here. One day he will come back here. In what role, I don’t know.’
He did return to Arsenal, the club he considers his home, for four matches on loan from the Red Bulls in 2012, coming on as a substitute to score the winner against Leeds on his 'second debut' in the third round of the FA Cup.
Henry capitalises on a slip by Barthez to slot the ball home during Arsenal's 3-1 win over Manchester United at Highbury in 2001
Held back by Newcastle striker Alan Shearer as he tries to remonstrate with referee Graham Poll after a 3-1 loss in December 2001
Sliding into the net on the follow-through after scoring in a 4-1 win over Fulham in February 2002 as Arsenal head for the Double
The overhead kick was a frequent occurrence, such as this one against Ajax in the Champions League in February 2003
He didn't miss too many but Juventus keeper Fabian Carini got his fingertips to this Henry penalty in the Stadio delle Alpi in March 2002
Showing customary perseverance to charge down Tottenham goalkeeper Kasey Keller in a north London derby at Highbury
Posing with the FA Cup after Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0 to win the Cardiff final in 2002. Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg were on target
Doused in champagne by Sol Campbell after Arsenal won the Premier League title in 2002, completing another Double after 1971 and 1998
The 2002 World Cup was a colossal disappointment for Henry and France as the defending champions crashed out in the group
Henry scored a hat-trick amid the smoke of the Stadio Olimpico as Arsenal won 3-1 against Roma in the Champions League in 2002
All smiles with Kolo Toure (left) and Robert Pires (right) after scoring in a 2-1 win at West Brom in late 2002
Henry leaves Robbie Savage and goalkeeper Nico Vaesen for dead during a 4-0 win over Birmingham City in January 2003
Some immaculate chest control during Arsenal's visit to Blackburn Rovers in March 2003. They were beaten 2-0 that afternoon
Henry could certainly take a free-kick as well, such as this one in a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside in April 2003
Henry was voted PFA Player of the Year by his peers in April 2003. He won the award twice and was named in the best team sic time
But the next most significant spell of his career was at Barcelona. He spent three successful seasons with the Catalan giants, collecting more history as part of the first team to do the Spanish treble, winning the Primera Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League in 2009. Henry recovered from a knee injury to play in the European Cup final that year, where they beat Manchester United 2-0.
Henry was widely loved everywhere he played, even by opposition fans who could appreciate his remarkable talent. But his career was not without controversy. His darkest moment came in 2009 when his infamous handball against the Republic of Ireland cheated them out of a place in the World Cup.
Rolling the ball past former team-mate David Seaman in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Manchester City at the Etihad in August 2003
Henry shows off his physique after scoring for Arsenal against Everton at Highbury in August 2003
The angle didn't matter for Henry, as shown by this finish in a 3-2 win over Newcastle United during the 2003-2004 'Invincibles' campaign
Henry manages to find the net despite a crowded penalty box as Arsenal take the lead at Inter Milan in November 2003. They won 5-1
Eric Djemba-Djemba can only look on in amazement as Henry unleashes a blockbuster against Manchester United
He scored a vital hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Liverpool on Good Friday 2004, putting Arsenal seven points clear at the top of the table
And he went one better a week later, scoring four goals in a 5-0 rout of Leeds United that took Arsenal within touching distance of the title
Arsenal celebrate at the final whistle after a 2-2 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane wrapped up the Premier League title in 2004
Henry lifted the Premier League trophy for the second time and completed an unbeaten season when they won 2-1 against Leicester
In America, Henry became the Red Bulls' longest-serving player, despite only being there for four years. He had a spiky relationship with the fans but they grew to love him and he repaid them with their first major title in their 17-year history.
Surprisingly, perhaps, Henry never won the Ballon d’Or. However he can count four Premier League golden boots and five French player of the year awards among his individual honours.
But perhaps the mark of the man lies in his considered response when asked by Blizzard journalist Thierry Marchand his favourite memory from a trophy laden 20-year career. ‘The first time that my father saw me on a football pitch,’ he replied, ‘Because everything started there. The rest of the story, everybody knows it.’
David James brings down Henry in the dying moments of England Euro 2004 group match with France, sparking a late comeback
Henry grabs the ball as he celebrates a goal by Jose Antonio Reyes against Middlesbrough as Arsenal's unbeaten run went on
Arsenal's unbeaten run finally came to an end at 49 games when beaten 2-0 by Manchester United, with Wayne Rooney on target
Defenders would sometimes have to resort to desperate measures to stop Henry, such as this lunge by Nasief Morris of Panathinaikos
Henry shows his heading prowess with an almost diagonal leap to reach a cross during Arsenal's 3-0 win over Birmingham in 2004
Henry is right in the midst of the celebrations after Freddie Ljungberg scored at Southampton in February 2005
Henry adored the big European stage, scoring here in the Champions League against Sparta in Prague in October 2005
The Gunners beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Bernabeu en route to the 2006 Champions League final. Henry scored and greets David Beckham
The 2005-06 campaign saw Henry overtake Ian Wright's club goalscoring record of 185, marked by this Nike publicity picture
And Wright was on hand to present Henry with a special memento to mark the record before a match with Man City in October 2005
Henry nutmegs Fabio Cannavaro during a Juventus vs Arsenal Champions League match in April 2006
Goalkeeper Paul Robinson can only look back in despair as Henry bends the ball home in the north London derby with Spurs in 2006
Arsenal made it to the Champions League final in 2006 but it wasn't to be for Henry as Barcelona triumphed 2-1 in Paris
Henry was presented with the Premier League Golden Boot accolade during farewell celebrations for Highbury in May 2006
Sharing a joke with Arsene Wenger, who presents him with the Premier League Golden Boot accolade
Henry celebrates his goal in France's match with South Korea in the 2006 World Cup finals. The match in Leipzig ended 1-1
But there wouldn't be a second World Cup triumph to add to Henry's CV in 2006 as they were beaten on penalties by Italy in the final
In 2007, Henry left Arsenal and joined Catalan giants Barcelona for just under £20m, signing a four-year contract
Thousands of Barcelona fans turned out for Henry's official unveiling at the Nou Camp in June 2007
Henry was soon back on the goal trail at Barcelona, scoring here against rivals Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu in May 2009
Henry finally got his hands on the European Cup when Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in Rome in the 2009 final
The most controversial moment of Henry's career arrived in November 2009 when his handball against Ireland went unpunished
Henry rounded off his career with New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer - he's seen here celebrating scoring in a friendly with Spurs
He did briefly return to the Emirates Stadium in January 2012 and still showed the clinical finishing that made him a club icon
Indeed, there is a statue of Henry outside Arsenal's home, in classic knee slide celebration pose
Head here to Like our Arsenal Facebook page.
Most watched Sport videos
- Danielle Collins slaps her backside at Australian Open crowd
- Super Bowl LVIII State Farm ad featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Haaland makes COLD announcement about his contract with Man City
- Kylie Kelce details Jason's 'walk of shame' on her college campus
- Diallo shows off match ball match after hatrick against Southampton
- SI Swimsuit announces Brianna LaPaglia as next Digital Cover Model
- Jim Ratcliffe and Dave Brailsford arrive at Old Trafford stadium
- Erling Haaland signs contract extension at Man City to 2034
- Amorim: 'The important thing is to win and Amad helped us win'
- 'I wanted to be in the game all the time': Denis Law reflects on career
- Ivan Juric reacts to Southampton 3-1 loss to Manchester United
- Moment Man United manager Ruben Amorim walks out at Old Trafford
Press green if you think henry is a legend
by Jose Aldo 1481