Barcelona Target Henry Again
Soccer: Stop us if you've heard this one before: Barsa president Joan Laporta reckons he can lure Thierry Henry to the Nou Camp by offering Arsenal £17m for him.
Barcelona are preparing to test Thierry Henry's resolve by trying to sign the striker this summer. The club's president, Joan Laporta, has told associates in Spain that he believes Barsa can be successful in a transfer move for the Arsenal captain this time around.
Henry rebuffed a similar approach from Barcelona after Arsenal's European Cup final defeat by the Catalans last season, signing an extension to 2010 that he stated would be his last playing contract. But Laporta has been encouraged by the departure from Arsenal of the vice-chairman, David Dein, who sat alongside Henry at the announcement of that new four-year contract and was cited as a key influence in the striker's decision.
Dein's exit has not affected Henry's commitment to the club but, if the manager, Arsène Wenger, were to waver following his close friend's dismissal, that position would change.
"At the end of last season I signed a new contract," Henry said last month. "I believe in the boss and what he is trying to do here. As long as he is here, then I will be here - it's just as simple as that."
There are currently no signs that Wenger is close to leaving but much hangs on his discussions with the board over the summer. The club's directors will seek clarification of the motives of Stan Kroenke, the US billionaire who has built a stake in the club, but they are nevertheless convinced they can compete in the transfer market with Europe's leading clubs.
A £40m facility is available for transfers and during last summer's contract negotiations players such as Henry and Cesc Fabregas were assured that established world stars would be bought. The arrivals of Julio Baptista, Tomas Rosicky and William Gallas were not enough to convince them that a genuine assault on the Champions League was feasible this season and, after a slew of injuries, their doubts have been justified.
Laporta is hoping to exploit those misgivings by employing classic Spanish transfer tactics. They have €50m (£34m) available to spend on players this summer but would not commit more than half of that on Henry, a player who will be 30 in August.
Henry rebuffed a similar approach from Barcelona after Arsenal's European Cup final defeat by the Catalans last season, signing an extension to 2010 that he stated would be his last playing contract. But Laporta has been encouraged by the departure from Arsenal of the vice-chairman, David Dein, who sat alongside Henry at the announcement of that new four-year contract and was cited as a key influence in the striker's decision.
Dein's exit has not affected Henry's commitment to the club but, if the manager, Arsène Wenger, were to waver following his close friend's dismissal, that position would change.
"At the end of last season I signed a new contract," Henry said last month. "I believe in the boss and what he is trying to do here. As long as he is here, then I will be here - it's just as simple as that."
There are currently no signs that Wenger is close to leaving but much hangs on his discussions with the board over the summer. The club's directors will seek clarification of the motives of Stan Kroenke, the US billionaire who has built a stake in the club, but they are nevertheless convinced they can compete in the transfer market with Europe's leading clubs.
A £40m facility is available for transfers and during last summer's contract negotiations players such as Henry and Cesc Fabregas were assured that established world stars would be bought. The arrivals of Julio Baptista, Tomas Rosicky and William Gallas were not enough to convince them that a genuine assault on the Champions League was feasible this season and, after a slew of injuries, their doubts have been justified.
Laporta is hoping to exploit those misgivings by employing classic Spanish transfer tactics. They have €50m (£34m) available to spend on players this summer but would not commit more than half of that on Henry, a player who will be 30 in August.
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