beano5 14 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Henry completes 24-million euro move to Barca (Updating with Henry quotes) By Simon Baskett MADRID, June 25 (Reuters) - France striker Thierry Henry completed his 24.0 million ($32.30 million) move from Arsenal to Barcelona on Monday saying that he had come to the club to play a style of football he had always admired. Henry, who turns 30 in August, was unveiled at the Nou Camp after passing a medical and signing a four-year deal with the Primera Liga side. "I'm delighted to be here and so pleased that I will have a chance to show what I can do," Henry told a news conference. "This is a club that wants to win everything and I will try my hardest to help them achieve that. I'm going to give 100 percent and I'm not going to be putting myself before the club. "Barcelona play a style of football I've always admired. I want to be part of that and to play in this great stadium and to enjoy some amazing football. Barcelona president Joan Laporta said that signing rangy striker had been a long-standing dream of the club. "Thierry Henry is a player we've been after for many years and now he's here," said Laporta. "Johan Cruyff wanted to sign Thierry Henry when he was a young player. When I was elected president in 2003 I wanted to sign him, we also wanted to get him last year and today it is a great pleasure to finally see him here. "He is one of the best players in the world and given his quality, experience and commitment he comes to Barcelona at the perfect moment." NUMBER 14 Henry was presented with the number 14 shirt, the squad number he had at Arsenal and the same as that worn by Barcelona great Cruyff. The Frenchman offered a few words of fluent Catalan after being presented with the shirt, saying his former Arsenal team mate Cesc Fabregas had coached him on what to say. With expectation reminiscent of that which greeted Ronaldinho when he joined the club in 2003, an estimated 20,000 fans turned up at the Nou Camp to witness the arrival of the French striker as he walked out to the sound of the club anthem. Looking rather taken aback by the reception he saluted the crowd, juggled with the ball and posed for the traditional round of photographs. "I was very surprised to see so many people out there waiting," said Henry. "You don't even dream about things like that. It's true what they say, Barcelona is more than a club." Barcelona were denied a third straight Primera Liga title on the final day of the season a week ago, losing out to arch-rivals Real Madrid on head-to-head results. A great deal of soul-searching has gone on since then after a season with no silverware, and the club has moved quickly to strengthen the squad and appease the fans. FOCAL POINT Henry was the focal point at Arsenal and their top scorer in four of the five Premier League seasons between 2001-06, though he spent much of the last campaign sidelined with injury. He turned down a move to Barca and signed a four-year contract with Arsenal after they lost to Frank Rijkaard's team in the 2006 Champions League final in Paris. Now at Barca, Henry faces the prospect of having to find a place in the one of the most feared forward lines in European football, which includes Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, Brazil playmaker Ronaldinho and Argentina winger Lionel Messi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vthokies4life 10 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Yeah, Barca have been after him for about 3 years now. Henry was saying that he was becoming unhappy with the situation at the Arsenal. It's still messed up though. Henry was saying that he was "Arsenal through and through". He said that in March I think. I'll look for the quote. But I'm trying to think of any other big transfer shake ups that have happened. Hahaha, Beckham is coming to the U.S. Have y'all heard about that??? Jk... Other than that, not too many moves over 10 million British Pounds. Henry's was about 16 mil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vthokies4life 10 Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 Another big move. Fernando Torres is moving to Liverpool from Athletico Madrid for £27 mil (roughly $54 mil). In exchange, Atletico Madrid will receive Luis Garcia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vt_keeper 10 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 Hard to believe Fernando Torres is worth almost 2 times what Henry is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vthokies4life 10 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 I know it. IMO, it's completely insane. Henry has proven how classy he is on the ball. They are taking a pretty big gamble on Torres who, yeah, has played well, but is no Henry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vt_keeper 10 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 Very true. Torres is still fairly young if im not mistaken and prob has a little more life in him than Henry. But then again 30 isnt all that old anymore. Who knows. Barca should run away with the Spanish League. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vthokies4life 10 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 Yeah, definitely But for all of you who care, you can keep up with the transfers pretty well at www.skysports.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 Henry has to be my favorite soccer player. I loved watching him play in the World Cup. I didnt think they'd beat brazil, but they sure did. PK's i believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vthokies4life 10 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 Haha, that was a LONG time ago. But what a great game. That's when there was a young guy named Zinedine Zidane who would have a brilliant career (and a great header... with someone's chest...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Now that was awesome... It shouldnt have been called though because the ref's didnt see it. and there not suppose to call anything unless they see it (or that was what the announcers said anyways) and then they watched it on the jumbo-tron, then called it I was pulling for france the whole way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vthokies4life 10 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 I was pulling for zidane. Materazzi (i couldn't stand him before the tournament) was talking trash about zidane's mom or sister, one of the two. Either way, I think Zidane did well only head butting him, and not knocking his teeth out with a well placed kick. The thing about Materazzi, is that he said that incident tarnished his image. Not the case at all. He has always been a trouble maker and it's about time somebody did something about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POSKN8R 12 Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 one of the best headbutts in soccer. I was hoping there would be this huge fight and that the stands would get cleared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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