Talking to Thierry Henry will give you goosebumps. The striker who starred for the undefeated Arsenal “Invincibles” squad and Pep Guardiola’s first great Barcelona team with a young Messi is considered by many to be the best player English football has ever seen. His beautiful goals and selfless assists helped make it fashionable to root for Arsenal and inspired Black teenagers around the world.
Since hanging his boots up, Henry has stayed in the public eye as the assistant coach for the Belgian national team, a commentator on CBS’s Champions League broadcasts, in games like Fifa 22, and in cameos on shows like Ted Lasso. It’s refreshing to see Henry when we can, he always leaves us wanting more. Henry talked to GQ about his post-playing career, his current assessments of Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah, his thoughts on racism in football, and how much he loves Allen Iverson.
GQ: Thierry Henry, the broadcaster. What made you want to do this?
Thierry Henry: The love of the game. When you finish your career, you tend to miss being in the game. I started to play football when I was seven years old. I've been in football since, and now I’m 44. So no matter how and what, I want to be involved, as a coach [Henry is assistant coach for the Belgian national team], or as a broadcaster, or you can be helping someone. Even if I see someone in the street sometime, if they want to know something, I'll try to help. It's always good to make people understand the game that I love.
How did you get to CBS? And what does CBS mean for soccer?
Just because, first and foremost, I have the opportunity to work for the Champions League, which is pretty big, and also, as you know, [soccer] is not the number one sport in the [United States]. And so I thought, if I can help CBS and people in the U.S. understand what's happening overseas... And because I think it's fun! Sometimes, you have to be to the point. But sometimes we can have a laugh. So we're just having fun while also trying to be efficient with [commentary].
You once compared soccer to basketball because of the pace and the excitement of the sport. And you were always seen at games in the early 2000s with Tony Parker.
You know your stuff!
What exactly excites you about basketball? How big of a fan are you of the NBA and basketball in the United States?
Well, I grew up with the battles of the Celtics and the Lakers, Bird versus Magic. Let's not forget about the Detroit Pistons because sometimes the Pistons do not get the credit that they deserve. Because always people talk about how they were beating people up. But they could play basketball. And then Michael Jordan happened, and then I don't care who you are. If you saw Michael Jordan playing, you will love basketball. As simple as that.
From that moment on, I was like, "I love that sport." What I like about basketball is the pace of it. The beauty of it, just everything, it seems effortless when those guys do it... I can't play to save my life [laughs]. So I grew up with it. I thought that was always the sport that I wanted to maybe play if I could, but I cannot. I cannot do it.
In 2001, you went to Philadelphia and Los Angeles for a French broadcasting crew for the NBA Finals to watch Allen Iverson. What was it like to go through that experience? How much did you love Allen Iverson?
Look, Allen Iverson didn't win the title, as we all know. But sometimes it's not about what you win, it's about what you transmit and how you transcend and what you stand for. And so Allen Iverson for me was just the guy telling everybody, "You can do it no matter what." No matter what, if you play, and if you live your life, the way he was, wearing his heart on his sleeves, playing hard no matter what. Whoever was in front of him, he was telling you, "I'm better than you." That, still now, gives me goosebumps because that guy did so much. And although I was on the other side of the water: for me, what he did, it transmitted, especially for a Black guy. He was second to none.
You were a legendary player; some people say you’re the best Premier League player ever. Who do you think compares the most right now to your game?
Wow. Look, I'm not trying to be humble and all of that. I don't think you should compare people, because everybody has their own style, different eras, different battles, different way of playing, different way of seeing the games… But the one that always comes close and everyone does repeat, because we're from the suburbs of Paris, we both played for Monaco first, and so on, is Kylian Mbappé. That's why people always compare me to him.
I don't particularly like it. Not because of what I did. It's not about that. I think everyone has their own way, and he's Mbappé. I actually love him, by the way. The way he plays is just crazy. But he's him, I was me. But if I have someone here killing me to say something, I would say Mbappé.
What do you like specifically about this game?
I like how clever he is on the field. His brain. When he speaks, when he gives interviews, he seems like a level-headed guy. He knows where he wants to go. And the way he sees the game, his football IQ for me is really high. People always mention his speed and his dribbling. But listen, you have a ball at your feet. You need to see everything at that speed and make the right choice. So your brain has to be right, because if not, if it was only a matter of speed... For me, he's brainy and not a lot of people mention that, because to be able to handle all of that, the media, social media, and everything that's in and around him, he seems to do that well on top of playing.
What do you think about the current season for Paris Saint-Germain? The addition of Lionel Messi was huge, but it’s also been his worst start to a season in 15 years.
Well, it's kind of weird because, look, they are well ahead in the league in France. And right now in the Champions League they are not doing badly. What people want PSG to do better is the way they are playing. It's not always fluent, it's not always flamboyant, but at the end of the day, they are winning games. And you know as much as I do, as long as you win, you are right and accepted.
Now, for me to see Lionel Messi in Ligue 1 is just... I didn't think that was going to ever happen. I never thought he was going to leave Barcelona. But what you have sometimes is when you give caviar to people every day, and then you don't give them that, then they're like, well, what's wrong with you? I'm used to caviar. But that doesn't happen often, it's not normal. What people do not understand, because the best players often go to the national team, and because they play every three days, is that you do not actually train a lot. And to put a new tactic, new ideas with new players to make them gel, especially when you have egos in the team, it's not always easy to make them gel.
So right now the thing that buys them time, a lot of time, is that they are winning games. I'm not that worried for them. But the main thing is if you start to lose, then maybe people will question it even more. But when you play for Paris Saint-Germain, you always get judged on what you are not doing or what you didn't do or what you didn't win. That's life at the top and it's not easy.
Is that why people think that Messi is struggling as much as he is, even though the team is winning so much?
When you leave a place that you've been at a young age for a very long time, that you never thought you were going to leave, it takes a lot out of you emotionally. You need to realize and understand where you are, adapt to a new league and adapt to a new team and digest the move. You saw he cried when he left, those were not fake tears. He cried. It takes a little time to adapt and understand, even if you are him. But you need to understand that the guy is a human being also. And that emotionally, sometimes, we all do get touched by something. Leaving Barcelona, it's still raw for him. But I believe he will turn it over. I hope he will turn it up. I'm confident in him.
Same with me when I left Arsenal to go to Barcelona, it took me a minute to get used to my surroundings. I never thought that I was going to leave Arsenal, so joining Barcelona... Was I in a great club, in a great town? Hell yeah. But it took me a little time to digest it.
Last month, in Lisbon, you accused social media companies of profiting off of hate. And you said that you were going to boycott them moving forward. So what do you think, is the solution to this problem?
Well, the solution is to legislate a law. When someone does something wrong on there, can we find out who the guy is? Can we trace who is the person behind the account? Because at the end of the day, they generate money through hate. There was a massive boycott for a weekend with a lot of people, a lot of leagues turned out. Then it became something that they're talking about at the parliament here in the UK.
The legislation Boris Johnson is pushing for: Is that something you support?
It's about making people accountable for what they say. It's just that. I was just wondering and hoping and saying, why can you not get punished when you do something there? It's supposed to be a safe place.
My statement was not only about being Black. But it seems like everybody wanted to talk about racism. No, we are all human beings. And I would always defend my community. I have kids, I do not want my kids or any other kid by the way, to suffer from it, bullying or homophobia or whatever people have in their mind right now. I don't want anyone to suffer. But it seems that instead of being a safe place for people to navigate, it's also a safe place for people to hate on people.
Why can we not know who's behind the fake account? Why can we not register with a national security number or your passport number?... Then we can trace whoever is behind it. Not a fake email or a fake number under a fake name.
Over the summer, many English people used those platforms — Twitter, Instagram, et cetera — to attack Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho because they missed some penalties in the European Championship final. What did you think when you saw that?
Whatever problem you have in society, at times you will see it also in the game. What did I feel? I knew it was going to happen because it was the trend. It is just something that now, oh, let's do that. So when those guys miss the penalties, I was like, watch how they're going to get abused. And they did get abused. I felt sorry for them... it could have been me. And it was me. And it has been me. And it has been others. And it has been in the past. And it’s still going on.
So I felt sorry. And I know Bukayo, so I dropped him a line to tell him that actually for me, you going to present yourself to take that penalty, you are a hero. I didn't [care] actually, him scoring or not scoring. Even the courage to go in there, to go and take the penalty at his age, for me he's a hero.
When you played with Arsenal, you became a symbol to so many Black people in Europe and across the world because of the fact that you did transcend the sport. Have you reflected on that at all in the last few years?
It's very difficult to reflect because [life] goes 100 miles an hour. It's a tough one. But since I stopped playing, I do kind of look at what I've done. Sometimes people come up to me and say, "It's because of you I like Arsenal." I'm like, "Oh, seriously? Really?" or, "It's because of you I like the game." I'm like, "Really?" It's still kind of weird for me.
This is why I said what I said before. Titles are great, don't get me wrong, because I was and I'm still a competitor. You want to win no matter what. But then after, you realise that it is about what you do, and how it transmits to other people. What you gave to people: Joy, pain. We cry together, we smile together, we were upset together. I think that's why we go back to certain athletes. People could relate to him, because they could see themselves through him.
It's so interesting that you had mentioned how much Iverson had meant to you, because you made that same impact on other people. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid. All these guys have sung your praises in recent years.
I know, but you know what? It's easier to see it when you're not involved. Because when I open my eyes, I'm still a kid. I'm like, oh, Michael Jordan. Oh, Allen Iverson. Allen Iverson is not that much older compared to me, but whenever I see them, I'm still the nine-year-old, the 10-year-old, the 11-year-old.
I met Antetokounmpo and he told me, "Wow, I wanted to be like you," and stuff like that. Then I was like, "What?" So I'm looking at him like, "Wow, I wish I could do what you're doing."
You’re the assistant coach for Belgium. You coached at Monaco and Montreal. Do you want to be a top manager?
Most definitely. I would love to do that, but you gotta be equipped for that. At times, you also need the right tools, the right team that understands what you are and who you are. Also, there is an evolution. I said to a couple of friends of mine that what I knew before about how we've been educated, I thought it was set in stone. I grew up, in the “shut up and play” era. I grew up where you can’t challenge your coach. I grew up with, the idea that if you're not playing, you know why, it's because you're shit.
So, now, you have to go and meet that new generation. You have to understand their code. You have to understand that sometimes being late for them is all right. So I got educated a certain way, but then the players right now are reeducating me. But, if it goes to music, if it goes about what I wear and everything, nothing really has changed because I'm from a certain area where I can understand those guys. Right?
Sure.
But then the way they act at times... If you ask me to do a sprint from zero to 40, I'm decelerating at 60 yards, not 40.. You see sometimes a new generation, around 35 yards they start to decelerate. I'm like, hmm? That's not a sprint. But then you need to understand their way. You need to understand their code. You need to understand also that they're growing up with social media. You need to understand that they will challenge you. You need to understand that if they need to know something, they go on Google... So once you understand that, you need to put your ego on the side, understand those guys, and then you can go places. Now what I need is to have a project that can match what I am.
There's probably not something you want out there yet.
If you're the best coach in the world, you pick and choose. No, you don't pick and choose. You say, "I want to go there." When you're not, you wait and see that you need to prove yourself. I haven't done anything in the game on that side of the line, so I'm learning. Already, I'm not the same person, the same coach, as I was when I went to Monaco. Totally different already. But like I always say, are you winning or are you learning?
Do you think Mohamed Salah is the best player in the world?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
[laughs]
Listen, I think that Mo Salah, right now, is just scary. But that's the past three to four months. So, is he on his way to be that? I believe that, but he needs to maintain that. What I like about him now is, he's happier to share the ball earlier. So now he needs to know that he has to make players play better. He's doing that and I love that about him this year. I already used to love the way he finishes, the way he scores his goals. Now he likes to share, and that's when I'm like, uh-oh. Hang on a minute. He's changing.
Now, he understands that it's as beautiful when you give a goal as when you score it. That will have massive [impact] on his team, because then it becomes healthy. He gives to Sadio Mane, Sadio Mane gives back to him, often without knowing, suddenly they will give assists to each other. The other one will score. It just happens. But when the big guy sends that message to the team, that team can go places. This is why I believe that he's on his way. Is he there yet? I don't think he's there yet. Is he on the way to be? Yes, he's on his way to be.
Alex Ferguson recently talked in a documentary about Arsene Wenger and the Invincibles [the 2003-4 Arsenal team Henry played on that won the Premier League without losing a match]. He said that that achievement stands above anything that he has ever done. It is the golden standard for what English soccer can be. What made y'all so unbeatable?
We were all leaders. We hated to lose. Obviously, we got sometimes smashed, sometimes we lost badly. But we were all leaders. We were always challenging each other. You should have seen the dressing room. Even after games we won, we were arguing. We were just not normal. If you walked into the dressing room, you would say, "Sorry, guys. Better luck next week." We were like, "No, we won." Then you’d say, "Oh. Why are you guys arguing?" "Because it wasn't perfect." Do you know what I mean?
Absolutely.
We were special. The likes of Patrick Viera in midfield and Dennis Bergkamp and then Sol Campbell, and Freddie [Ljungberg]. I'm not going to name the whole squad obviously.
Because you easily could.
We were lunatics that were there to try to be perfect. And we managed to do it in a season. A lot of teams came close to it. I hope that it will happen again, like I always say, I don't have a problem with that. But we were the first to do it in the modern era of the game. So yeah, to stay unbeaten in the Premier League... I have to say that it is tough, because every game is a battle. And back in the days, not having a go at anything, back in the days it was a proper battle. I have to, again, thank the boss Arsene Wenger about that, because we were champions with four or five games to go, I think. You still have to play those games, and he said try to play it, and you will see, it's something that's going to stay in the history of the game.
And when the boss was talking we were like, "What is he talking about? What else you want? It's over." It's very difficult to say to a guy, "You just won the 100 metre, can you run it again?" And then we did it. Those last four to five games were the worst games we've ever played, because we were going through the motions at times. But what kept us in some games is that we were arguing all the time at half time. And we woke each other up in games when we needed just to switch it a bit. But it is something that at the time we didn't realise at that moment, but the boss, that's why he was the boss, he could see the future.
Give me your brief blueprint for how you fix Arsenal right now. How do you get them back on track to be champions again?
Ah, that's a tough one for me. Because it's difficult not knowing what's happening at the club. And I don't want to duck the question, but I don't know what's happening. It's very critical for me to know exactly, because I don't like to speculate. I've been in some dressing rooms when I heard people talking, and I was like, "What? That's not true. What are you talking about? You aren't even in the dressing room, why are you talking?"
So I don't know what's happening. All I wish is, as an Arsenal fan, that we can do way better, rather than a tiny bit. And make sure we can go back to Europe, and then maybe eventually win the league.
Who's your favorite basketball player right now, in the NBA or even internationally?
The Greek Freak. LeBron James, let's not even talk about the guy, because I don't even know what to say anymore. I mean, it's just ridiculous what he can do, what he did, how he maintained himself. Obviously, now he's going through a lot of injuries, but I mean, what he did give people. That guy could adapt to anything, he's like a chameleon, the guy, whatever you want him to be. You want him to post, he will post. You want him to whatever, he’ll do it. But for me, I always, always, always, always, always liked Steph Curry. There's something about the guy that, you know when you cool?
You cool when you cool.
He's cool. I don't know, there's something about him.
He's real smooth.
I remember him coming in with a bad Warriors team, because my boy Ronny Turiaf was there. He got traded, he went to play for the Warriors. And I think Stephen Curry just came from university. And I said, "Hey, that guy that you just got, he's a baller man." You could see the quality. And then, next thing you know, the guy, what? A star.
Where are you shopping these days? I see you in this walnut turtleneck.
Me? It's exactly how you are. Track suit, hoodie, trainers or sneakers, as you guys say. That's all day. I'm from the hood, so this is how I dress myself.
I'm also from the hood, so I also respect the hoodie and the track pants look.
Oh no, that's me all the time. You don't even understand, if I could live in a tracksuit and a hoodie, I would literally live in a tracksuit and a hoodie.
How do you want this next generation to see you? How do you want the people who are coming after you to say about you?
It's about what you transmit, and it's about how you touch people. It's not always about what you want. And so, for me, like I always said, one thing that is important, did you make the game evolve? Did you elevate the position of where you were playing as a striker? Did you change the position of where you were playing? Did some people start to say, "Hey, hang on a minute, he changed that?"
I don't like to talk about myself, but we're doing an interview, so we have to talk about me. Let's put it this way, when I hear someone saying, because of you, I love football, that beats any title that I won.
