Henry set to join the Red BullsBen Lyttleton
Just over an hour into Barcelona's Champions League semifinal elimination at the hands of Internazionale, Thierry Henry knew his time at the club was up. Barcelona, the holders, needed two goals to reach the final but instead of using Henry's experience from the bench, coach Pep Guardiola replaced Zlatan Ibrahimovic with Jeffren Suarez, a 22-year-old rookie with just two first-team goals to his name. The snub could not have been more public, and it marked the low-point of a terrible year for Henry.
It would also have left the sporting and marketing departments at Red Bull New York, the club Henry looks certain to join after the World Cup, wondering if they have made a rather large mistake in their efforts to recruit him.
Catalan newspaper Sport reported Friday that Henry had signed a pre-contract agreement with the club, with the only surprise being that the news had taken so long to leak out. Sources in Barcelona told SI.com that Henry's manager Darren Dein, a lawyer and the son of ex-Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, had tied up a deal in principle with the Red Bulls as long as three weeks ago.
Unsurprisingly, considering its season only finished on Sunday night, Barcelona has not yet agreed to any sale. It would demand some compensation given that Henry's contract has one more year to run, and both parties would need to make sure contingencies are in place were Henry to suffer an injury at the World Cup. So it's not a done deal just yet.
Full article:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ben_lyttleton/05/15/henry.mls/index.html
Henry brings star power to MLSGrant Wahl
Three thoughts on Thierry Henry's almost certain move to the New York Red Bulls after the 2010 World Cup:
1. We all knew this was coming. How much does Henry love New York City? The first time I ever spoke to him one-on-one -- in July 2000 two nights before the Euro 2000 final -- Henry told me that whenever he visited NYC he felt like he was "walking in a movie." Henry-to-New York should be a perfect marriage of player and city. Henry doesn't have the celebrity Q-rating of David Beckham, but he does have a personality and standing that match up well with a Gotham icon like, say, Derek Jeter. Henry should also tip his cap to Victoria Beckham; I'm convinced David Beckham would have wanted to go to New York himself in 2007 if Victoria hadn't always insisted on moving to Los Angeles instead. David's loss is Thierry's gain.
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