Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi has revealed he was star struck by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry during their time together at Barcelona.
Henry left Arsenal in 2007 after completing a £20million move to the Catalan giants, leaving the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners club's leading all-time league goalscorer with 174 goals and leading all-time goalscorer in European competitions with 42 goals. The French icon would go on to line-up alongside a young Messi, who was just breaking into the Barca first team as a regular starter.
During their time together at the Camp Nou, Messi and Henry won two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, completing a historic treble-winning season in the 2008/09 season. Messi was able to learn from the likes of Henry, Samuel Eto'o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic but it was the Arsenal hero that he idolised most.
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Speaking to L'Equipe, via The Mirror, Messi revealed that he couldn't look Henry in the eye when the Frenchman first arrived at Barcelona. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner said: "The first day he entered the dressing room, I did not dare to look him in the face.
"I knew everything he had done in England. I had an image of him made and suddenly we were on the same team."
Henry's debut season at the Camp Nou in the 2007/08 campaign saw him finish as the club's top scorer with 19 goals, ahead of Messi who tallied 16 goals in Frank Rijkaard's final year as Barca boss. Messi continued by expressing his admiration for the Gunners icon, adding: "What I feel for Titi may be a form of admiration. I loved Henry.
"The ease of finishing an action, how he takes the road to the goal and ends the play. He gives the impression that it is natural.
"His career, his dribbling, the last gesture. It is fluid, proportionate."
Whilst Henry was able to showcase his talent in Spain and England, Messi is yet to test himself in the Premier League, with a potential move to David Beckham's Inter Miami team in the MLS a possibility in the future. Recent reports have surfaced suggesting that Chelsea had reached an informal agreement with the Argentinian sensation to bring him to Stamford Bridge.
Former Blues owner Roman Abramovich is said to have agreed to give the forward an annual wage of $65million (£56.3m) plus 70 per cent of image rights, and Messi was reportedly keen on the deal. However, after his father was made aware of the plans by an intermediary, who was angry he was squeezed out of the negotiations, a deal collapsed.
Messi is set to decide upon his future in the coming months, and Henry may be having words to see whether his former teammate may fancy a shock move to the Emirates Stadium, especially if the Gunners go on to win the Premier League or Europa League and return to the UEFA Champions League next season.
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