Henry retires, signs £25m Sky deal

Former Arsenal captain Thierry Henry, has announced his retirement from playing football and has signed a contract worth around £25million with Sky television as football expert and ambassador from the start of 2015.The deal, however, will allow him work on his coaching badges, which could eventually see him return to the Emirates. Thierry Henry The former Arsenal, Barcelona and France star admitted it was not an easy decision to call time on his playing days, adding that he is now keen to offer his insight on the game. “It’s hard to leave the game you love behind,” he said. “But I’m at peace with what I’ve done in the game; I’ve got no regrets. “I still think I can give a lot to the game. I’m retiring and I’m not yet involved in any team so, in the meantime, why not give back to the game on TV and make people understand some stuff they don’t understand? “The job of an analyst is to put your message across and make people understand how the game is. It will be our job to try to make sure we can bring the game closer to people at home.” Henry – who left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2007 – ended his playing career at New York Red Bulls, despite rumours he would make a return to the Emirates.But the 37-year-old says that wasn’t an option, despite his love for Arsenal. “You never leave Arsenal Football Club. Everyone wants to know about the playing side but we didn’t talk too much about that,” he said. “If you moved back it would have turned out to be a bad move at one point. We all loved the first Rocky, but I don’t know about the last one. You come back once but I don’t see going to Arsenal as a comeback. I feel like I never left the place. I had one comeback and I guess it was enough. ”Henry lifted more than 35 major individual and team trophies including the World Cup and European Championship for France, the Champions League and La Liga with Barcelona, the Premier League and FA Cup at Arsenal, the French League at Monaco and the MLS Shield with the New York Red Bulls.