French striker Thierry Henry on Tuesday announced that he was retiring from football after two decades and would become a TV analyst in England
Thierry henry retires from professional football
Paris: French striker Thierry Henry today said he was retiring from professional football after two decades in the game and will become a TV analyst for Sky Sports in England.
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"After 20 years in the game I have decided to retire from professional football," Henry said in a statement on his Facebook page.
Henry, 37, a world and European champion with France, and the record scorer at English Premier League club Arsenal, said he was joining Sky Sports.
Thierry Henry. File Pic/AFP
"It is now time for a different career path and I am pleased to say that I will be returning to London and joining Sky Sports," he said.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said recently that Henry will "certainly" return to the club in some capacity in the future.
Henry, who has a daughter based in England, himself told L'Equipe in recent weeks that he wants to help Arsenal win the Champions League.
Henry first made his mark at French club Monaco before moving to Italian giants Juventus. But the bulk of his career was spent at Arsenal under Wenger, who brought him to north London in 1999.
He was a crucial part of the 2003-2004 "Invincibles" team alongside fellow Frenchman Patrick Vieira, which went unbeaten as it marauded to the Premier League title.
In England, Henry won the Premier League twice and the FA Cup three times.
He completed his playing career in the United States, playing for the New York Red Bulls in the MLS but could not prevent them being eliminated in the semi-finals of the playoffs this season.
Henry will also be remembered for a blatant handball in a 2009 World Cup qualifying playoff against the Republic of Ireland which led to the decisive goal for France and a ticket to the 2010 finals.
His last international game was during the 2010 World Cup when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 2-1 loss to hosts South Africa as France were dumped out of a tournament which had been a fiasco for the 1998 World Cup winners.
Capped 123 times for France, he scored a national record 51 goals during his international career which began with a 2-1 win over South Africa in October 1997. He scored 411 goals during his career.