resent-day Arsenal stars led the tributes to club great Thierry Henry
on Tuesday after the former France striker announced his retirement
from professional football.
Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey wrote on
Twitter: “Congratulations on an outstanding career @ThierryHenry. Top
player. Top guy. #Legend.”
The club’s German playmaker Mesut Ozil
tweeted: “Once you enchanted all of us — now I can only say: Thanks for
everything! @ThierryHenry #ArsenalLegend.”
English winger Theo
Walcott, who inherited Henry’s number 14 jersey after the Frenchman left
the club in 2007, said: “A true inspiration to me in my career. Thank
you @ThierryHenry & good luck in your new path.”
Henry, 37,
became a world and European champion with France and won the Champions
League at Barcelona, but it is for his record-breaking exploits with
Arsenal that he will be best remembered.
He won two Premier League
titles and three FA Cups with the club, set a new Arsenal scoring
record of 228 goals, and was honoured with a statue outside the Emirates
Stadium in 2011.
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who spent four
years playing alongside Henry at Arsenal, posted a picture on Twitter
of the pair during a post-match interview.
“Sad to see the end to the career of one of the best players I’ve ever played with,” he wrote. “A true legend @thierryhenry!”
Ian
Wright, whose Arsenal scoring record Henry broke, tweeted a photograph
of the former Monaco and Juventus player with a simple message saying:
“The king.”
Arsenal’s website published a link to a July 2008 fan poll in which Henry was voted the greatest player in the club’s history.
Having
finished his career with the New York Red Bulls, Henry is due to return
to London next month to work as an analyst and ambassador for Sky
Sports.
– ‘Joy and adventure’ –
Former Manchester United
defender Gary Neville, who will work alongside Henry at Sky, said: “We
were blessed in this country to see Thierry playing at his peak.
“He’s
potentially one of the greatest players in the world and even if you
supported another team, you couldn’t help but enjoy watching him play.”
Former
England striker Gary Lineker, now a BBC television presenter, wrote on
Twitter: “Congratulations to @ThierryHenry on a truly wonderful career.
One of the great footballers of our time and a top bloke. Bonne chance.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge described Henry as “my hero and idol” and wished him a “happy retirement”.
British
television personality Piers Morgan, one of Arsenal’s most high-profile
fans, tweeted: “Thank you @ThierryHenry for all the goals &
trophies — and the sheer, majestic glory of the way you played football.
What a career.”
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, British football
writer Henry Winter said: “He loved playing, dribbling, running,
scoring, and his example suffused countless impressionable young fans
with an awareness that the game should be about joy and adventure.”
Henry’s
time at Barcelona brought him the Champions League trophy that had
eluded him at Arsenal, as well as two league titles, the Copa del Rey,
the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
A message on the club’s website concluded: “Merci, Henry!”
Italian
club Juventus, where Henry spent eight months in 1999, tweeted: “A true
ambassador of the game. @ThierryHenry, wishing you all the very best in
your new adventure!”
Not all of the reaction to Henry’s
retirement was positive, however, owing to his handball in a World Cup
qualifying play-off against the Republic of Ireland in 2009 that helped
France qualify at Ireland’s expense.
“There are a few greats who
spoil that with what they do,” former Ireland midfielder Rory Delap told
BBC Radio 5 Live. “I’m sure he regrets that. There is still a lot of
feeling back home.”
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