Thierry Henry arrived at Barcelona as an Arsenal legend but was quickly brought back down to earth by club legend Xavi, who took issue with the Frenchman questioning the team’s motto
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has revealed how he clashed with Xavi when he joined Barcelona after questioning their club motto. The Frenchman will go down as one of the greatest forwards in recent history after winning almost every major trophy in football and scoring 366 times.
The biggest move of his career came when he signed for Barcelona in 2007-08, having become a legend at Arsenal across eight seasons, helping them win two Premier League titles and three FA Cups after netting 226 goals in 370 appearances.
But he was quickly brought down to earth shortly after he arrived at Barcelona by new team-mate Xavi, who told him to “shut up and work” when Henry mocked their slogan “mes que un club”, which translate to “more than a club”.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, he revealed: “When I joined Barcelona, I was upset as I was the new one on the block – people are having a go at you more than the guy that won before, which I understand but it does wind you up.
“I always remember, I was with Samuel Eto’o, we’re going up the stairs at the Camp Nou, and I’m looking at the Més que un club. I’m talking to Samuel Eto’o, and I said ‘Mes que un club? Come on man’.
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“Xavi was behind me, and I didn’t see he was behind me. He goes ‘Oi – what did you say?’ He said, ‘Don’t talk about my club like this, you’ve never won anything here. Shut up, work, and when you win something one day, you can talk about it.’
“I looked at him at that moment, he was well within his rights for me to understand what it was – because I didn’t know what it was. Now I know what it is, because I lost there, I won there, I understood what the club meant and what it means.
“This is why the club is what the club is, because Xavi passed it onto me at that moment. I didn’t say anything back, and it’s not like me to not have the last word, but I looked at him and said sorry.
“With Barcelona, they will all hammer you with what the club is. Anyone who went to La Masia, anyone who won there, they will talk about to you, they will pass it on, because they believe in it, because they have a duty, they have a way of playing, you like it, or you don’t. They are proud of what they do, and proud of the club – but it’s nice to have people around the club like that.”
Henry did not enjoy one of his most clinical seasons during his first year at Barcelona. He played 30 times in La Liga but scored just 12 – with 19 in all competitions – though he did win the treble of the title, Copa del Rey and Champions League.
His second second at the Nou Camp was much better for him personally, scoring 26 goals in total and winning La Liga once again. In his third campaign, Henry picked up fewer minutes as stars like Pedro began to challenge his position and he scored just four times in all competitions.
Henry left Barca in 2010 and would finish his career with New York Red Bulls in the MLS, where he netted 52 times in 135 outings. Arsenal fans will also cherish his brief loan spell back with the Gunners in the 2011-12 season, where he scored twice in seven appearances.
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