Thierry Henry reveals hilarious reason why ‘ruthless’ old Barca boss Pep made him sit in the stands aged 33
THIERRY HENRY revealed the hilarious reason his “ruthless” old Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola forced him to watch matches from the stands.
The Arsenal icon confessed he was forced to watch games instead of playing when he was 33 as he was too “s****” for the Spaniard’s Barca squad.
Henry, 46, had huge success at Arsenal where he won two Premier Leagues and two FA Cups during his eight years in North London.
Then in 2007, his time with the Gunners came to an unexpected end and he headed straight for Barcelona.
A year later the current Manchester City boss moved from managing the B team to the first team at Camp Nou – and has been renowned for his “ruthless” tactics.
Speaking to Gary Lineker, Henry explained when Guardiola forced him to sit in the stands after failing to make the first team.
Henry said: “What I would say with Pep first and foremost he is the best I have seen.
“But Pep is ruthless and I experienced it because sometimes I travelled to games and he used to put me in the stand.
“I’m 33/32 at that time and you make me travel and you put me in the stand.
“So I could be here right now and be bitter like a lot of players would be. But at one point you have to recognise I was s****. That’s about it.”
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The former striker scored 49 goals in 121 appearances during his three terms at the Catalan giants.
But he quickly fell down Guardiola’s pecking order after scoring only four goals in his last season with the Blaugrana.
However, the French icon defended the Spaniard and only blamed himself for not being picked to play.
He added: “No, it was difficult for myself, for allowing someone to go in front of me.
“Pep wants to win and that’s how you have to see it. If I am in the stand it is because he thinks he can win without me.”