Henry to Real Madrid?

[CA_Gooner]

BBC is reporting that there is speculation that they are moving in for a bid on Thierry Henry. Of course the media seems to pick up on these stories all the time. Henry has just signed a new contract and I know he is extremely happy being at Arsenal, but you wonder at what cost would they let him go?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/3243506.stm

[Its only Ray Parlour]

They wouldn't let him go. I know this for a fact.

Wenger would resign, if this ever happened and he would never allow it if he had a say.

And most importantly Henry does not want to leave. So Real Madrid can go *#*#*#*# themselves the arrogant twats.

[Andy Bennett]

Is this the same article where Perez says that 'signing a defender would be a sign of weakness'?

What a complete twat...

[gento]

Originally posted by Andy Bennett
Is this the same article where Perez says that 'signing a defender would be a sign of weakness'?

What a complete twat...
Perez actually said it.Well,not really.He has said signing anyone on December would be a sign of weakness.
He also said Real Madrid will sign a big star next summer.Perez words were "the best player not playing right now in Real Madrid".
Who knows.

[TheSlipperyOne]

Thhbbbbbttttt

[fox point fury]

http://www.football365.com/Homegrounds/Arsenal/News/story_91453.shtml

And that, boys and girls, is what I'm truly thankful for today.

[Andy Bennett]

Originally posted by gento
Perez actually said it.Well,not really.He has said signing anyone on December would be a sign of weakness.
He also said Real Madrid will sign a big star next summer.Perez words were "the best player not playing right now in Real Madrid".
Who knows.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/3243506.stm

'Despite widespread criticism of Real's imbalanced line-up, Perez ruled out a move for a new defender when the transfer market reopens in January.

"It would be a sign of weakness - and in any case all our existing defenders are internationals," Perez claimed.'

I wasn't actually there when he said it mind you?

[jegerpenge]

being an international doesn't necessarily mean you are a good defender. if all of your defenders were starters on a typical italian national team, then yes, that would be something to brag about. having the internationals from the saudi arabian team that let in a ton of goals to germany is something completely different. anyway, i think we can all rest assured that henry is going nowhere even if it is a £100,000,000 offer. so perez can eat sh!t and die

[pookspur]

i'm a spurs fan; but on my honor, i'm not trying to wind you guys up here. but i wouldn't rest easy with this if i were a gooner. perez and valdano (who make me nauseous, by the way) have an established policy of signing the best non-madrid player in the world, regardless of whether they need him or not. if, by the end of may, that player is perceived to be thierry henry, you guys have a problem.

henry wants to stay. fantastic. lord knows the club doesn't want him to go. it'd be nice if it were as simple as that. but did figo want to go to madrid? did barca want him to? did juve want to see off zizou? inter want to sell ronaldo? those arrogant ba$tards in madrid are able to bring extraordinary pressures to get their man (even if man u didn't press them on it for beckham). and the fact that you guys need capital for the ashburton grove project will make the board just that much more susceptible.

i'm no fan of the arse; but if madrid really comes in for henry, and you guys can hold on to him, i'll tip my hat to you. good luck.

[ArsenalTexan3]

Originally posted by pookspur
i'm a spurs fan; but on my honor, i'm not trying to wind you guys up here....henry wants to stay. fantastic. lord knows the club doesn't want him to go. it'd be nice if it were as simple as that. but did figo want to go to madrid? did barca want him to? did juve want to see off zizou? inter want to sell ronaldo? those arrogant ba$tards in madrid are able to bring extraordinary pressures to get their man (even if man u didn't press them on it for beckham). and the fact that you guys need capital for the ashburton grove project will make the board just that much more susceptible.

Thanks for being a nice sp*rs poster and not a troll. I thought Ronaldo wanted to leave Inter, Real wanted Ronaldo, Inter wanted to keep Ronaldo, but he was making such a fuss, they sold him. Figo might have wanted to go to Real, but I doubt Barca wanted to sell him to a league rival. Manure unloaded Beckham to Madrid because they were going to pay a little more then Barca was. Even with the need for money on the Ashton Grove project, what good would it be if the club was not able to find someone to replace henry and attendence dropped?

[CA_Gooner]

... and Zidane wanted a move out from Juventus. I think like Arsenal earlier this week Henry is priceless. All the money in the world cannot replace him if he left, because there is no striker that plays like him.

[jegerpenge]

Originally posted by ArsenalTexan3
Thanks for being a nice sp*rs poster and not a troll. I thought Ronaldo wanted to leave Inter, Real wanted Ronaldo, Inter wanted to keep Ronaldo, but he was making such a fuss, they sold him. Figo might have wanted to go to Real, but I doubt Barca wanted to sell him to a league rival. Manure unloaded Beckham to Madrid because they were going to pay a little more then Barca was. Even with the need for money on the Ashton Grove project, what good would it be if the club was not able to find someone to replace henry and attendence dropped?

there is also the fact that if arsenal sell henry, it looks like they have no desire whatsoever to win anything. selling your best player is no way to get ahead even if it means extra funding for the grove. to me, henry is much more of just a player for arsenal, he is the epitome of arsenal at this time. he represents the frenchman playing and enjoying the english game and the english lifestyle. he is all the flair, the style and the skill that is the arsenal. this is much the same way that adams, winterburn, bould and dixon stood for arsenal during the height of their careers together. henry has repeatedly said that he wants to stay at arsenal to finish his career, the board have repeatedly stated that they will not sell him for any price, no matter how high, and the fans would call for blood if the thought of selling henry even crossed the minds of those in charge

[pookspur]

no arguments from me. there are more than enough rational reasons for henry to stay with arsenal. conversely, there are more than rational reasons for madrid not to be interested - namely raul, ronaldo, et. al.

i'm certainly not suggesting that if madrid comes calling, you may as well kiss henry goodbye. i am only saying that if they want him, to simply say "he's happy here and we're happy with him, so no problem" is probably not all there is to it.

the problem is that perez and valdano will defy reason in pursuit of their 'galacticos' policy, and if they start putting up offers clearly beyond henry's market value, then the board will have to address questions of fiscal responsibility. conversely, if henry is so committed to the arse that there is literally no salary figure that can turn his head, then god bless him - he would be exceptional, if not unique. i know he's under contract, but if madrid tables a huge offer, and let's henry know under the table that they'll increase his package considerably, then henry's commitment to stay might waver. i'm not just dreaming up scenarios here, either. this is the way madrid works.

i cannot remember zidane's quote exactly, but upon signing with madrid, he made the comment that madrid has the ability to make a move virtually impossible to resist - even if neither club nor player has any interest in going. i know i'd be bloody concerned if spurs had anybody worth madrid's attention.

[fox point fury]

Pookspur, you have a valid point. However, if you don't think we as fans are sufficiently worried you may be forgetting all the hype we've endured over the last few years regarding the "impending" moves of our captain and our manager to Madrid. If we seem underawed by Real then we've probably just grown weary of them.

[Jeff L]

Ashburton Grove will be paid for without the need to sell Henry. (Or Vieira or any other player). I think the board are well aware that if you are going to have a 60,000 stadium, then you need a 60,000 team to fill it. An Arsenal playing with a "middle of the road" team, will attract a "middle of the road" crowd. Besides, with Wenger in charge, he is a little more shrewder than allow the board to dictate to him team policy. Once that happens; he and the French contingent, will depart. And no one wants that. Neither Wenger or the players. And by now, they have all had the chance to leave.
And they haven't.

[pookspur]

yeah, i have to admit, i had forgotten about the attention that madrid had paid to viera and wenger in the past. i don't know that either one of them would be relevant to perez's policy of signing THE best non-madrid player every offseason, but clearly madrid's intentions don't make the impression on you fellows that it does on me. fair enough.

and for what it's worth, i didn't mean to suggest that henry would be sold to pay for the grove, per se. i was just using the grove to illustrate that your club has a need for capital (as do all others), and that, as the saying goes, 'everybody has their price'.

but i tell you what, if you lot aren't going to worry about it, i can't see why i should. anyway, good luck to the arse on this one...

...and that's something you won't hear from me on too many saturdays.

[billyho96]

I don't see a move to madrid. Raul has many years of quality left in him, and Ronaldo is still the best in the world, though he may not be after any more knee problems.

Zidane is on the way out and Figo may be a year past his prime, but the problem with Madrid is going to be Becks.

If he is the family man everyone says he is, I can't imagine him playing out his days in Madrid.
First, he is still living in a hotel with his wife and children still in London. I know it a damn fine hotel, but not exactly a sign of permanence. Secondly rumors are about of marital trouble and about Posh wanting him back in England and Roman Ab. having a hard on to see him in a Chelsea shirt.

I hate to say this but Chelsea are nearing a top 5 team in the world right now, and the main reason Becks said he went to Madrid instead of Barca was his desire to be in the Champions league. That doesn't seem to be something Chelsea are likely to miss out on anytime soon, Absent Roman going to jail and the state seizing all his assets, which is always a possibility.

[pookspur]

Originally posted by billyho96
... That doesn't seem to be something Chelsea are likely to miss out on anytime soon, Absent Roman going to jail and the state seizing all his assets, which is always a possibility.

knock wood.

[Martin Daoust]

Originally posted by jegerpenge
there is also the fact that if arsenal sell henry, it looks like they have no desire whatsoever to win anything. selling your best player is no way to get ahead even if it means extra funding for the grove. to me, henry is much more of just a player for arsenal, he is the epitome of arsenal at this time. he represents the frenchman playing and enjoying the english game and the english lifestyle. he is all the flair, the style and the skill that is the arsenal. this is much the same way that adams, winterburn, bould and dixon stood for arsenal during the height of their careers together. henry has repeatedly said that he wants to stay at arsenal to finish his career, the board have repeatedly stated that they will not sell him for any price, no matter how high, and the fans would call for blood if the thought of selling henry even crossed the minds of those in charge

Spot-on. I think Henry, Freddie Ljungberg and his Calvin Kleins notwithstanding is our most recognizable and marketable player as well as our best player ahead of Vieira now. I think when neutrals or even other clubs's supporters do think positively of Arsenal, it is Thierry Henry who inspires that positive thought almost entirely. Much as I love Patrick Vieira as a representative of Arsenal Thierry Henry IS Arsenal FC to the world and that is clear in the wake of Tuesday Night. It would undermine everything he Wenger and the Board have achieved to date to sell him to anyone, at any price or for any reason and would set Arsenal back to prior to Arsene Wenger's arrival. Pure folly.
BTW I trust our friend Jeff Lancaster implicitly on this as his advice saved me about 300 GBP at the Cup Final last May. Jeff Knows....

[jegerpenge]

Originally posted by billyho96
If he is the family man everyone says he is, I can't imagine him playing out his days in Madrid.
First, he is still living in a hotel with his wife and children still in London.

actually, he just bought a house in madrid

http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2003/11/06/beckham_moves_to_quash_rumors_over_marriage?mode=PF