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My mate just rang me and a few reports online confirm it....appparently barca paid 24 million for him.  :o

Shocking.

Any idea of a fee?

Apparently it's the same radio station that confirmed Becks's move to Madrid as well as Zidane's so I wouldn't be surprised if it was concrete.

BBC are sayin 16 million which is an absolute snitch....other sites are saying 24 million spondoolies.

Could be good for liverpool with Eto'o heading our way....

These reports regress back to a single report on Spanish radio.  It's not official yet and until Henry is photographed in a Barca shirt I would take it with a pinch of salt. 

That would be a steal. Remember Vieira went for cheap as well after being touted about only 2 seasons earlier for £25 million?

"We" as in Liverpool or Milan? :)

henry hasnt signed he is in talks after arsenal gave permission to talk
they have also give aberdeen permission to talk to him but on second thought aberdeen have decided to stick with darren mackie

16 million pounds ~ 24 million euros   ??

Sorry we as in Liverpool! Liverpools my team, Maldini's my hero!  ;)

If Arsenal lose Henry they won't finish in the top 7. Its not just about losing his goals, Henry is Arsenal and this would really hurt them inside.

Could be a period of demise with them also becoming one of the poorer/more financial constrianed clubs in the league.

They're only one departure away from a real crisis.

I dont think losing Henry will be as a big blow for arsenal as losing vieira was. I cant see em winning the league for a few years, still think top 4 though.

Hows tricks rooky, long time no hear?

Now that is just wishful thinking Mr Rookie9.

Arsenal finished 4th without Henry last season and the kids have more experience, not to mention any new players coming in.

However if you would care to lay me even money up to £500 that Arsenal do finish in the top six next season.....

Lets wait until the transfer window closes Mr Karabiner and we may just have a deal, even money would be more realistic at top 4 rather than 6!  ;) He was only missing for half the season this year wasn't he? and like I said I think its about more than just his on the field performance.

This could lead to Wenger going, and all the kids in that team that idolise him aren't going to be too happy!

if wenger goes next month arsenal will be lucky to stay in top 10

Wenger is there at least a season and Arsenal are in good hands, maybe not right now but their future is bright.

They have the biggest gate receipts in world football and are thee prime target in England for a takeover now that ManU, Liverpool and Chelsea have all been bought.

Add that to a host of good young talent and I cant see the problem.

What's he gonna do with the house he bought in Liverpool :dontask:

He must have bought it as an investment ::)

Hmmmmm shame I thought the new away kit really suited him

lol, ok

Arsenal will make the top 4 even without Henry...the man is a God though and, like this season, I'll miss watching him play every week :(

if Wenger were to go to real (which I think he won't as he has common sense and Real is no place for a manager with common sense and a long term vision) they would be screwed though

Wenger should never go to Real. Investing in youth is almost pointless at that club.

OK, I have had about an hour to think about this, infact Ive had about 12 months.

At the moment I'm absolutely gutted, infact f**ked off, to be honest but it was always going to happen one day, players come and players go but the club always carries on the problem this time is that the player leaving is arguably the best player we have ever had.

£16M though really pisses me off just like it did when Vieira left for £14m a couple of years ago. I would've liked to see Arsenal get a couple of players in exchange but that looks unlikely to happen. If I'm honest I think the club has moved backwards since winning the league in 2004. We really shouldve gone out and spent big in that summer but nobody could compete with Chelsea in the market. Now it seems alot of clubs are getting rich investors pumping money into clubs like its going out of fashion. I think Arsenal need to sell to the American or DIC if we are going to compete anymore with the elite.

The thing is financially we have never been able to compete with teams like Utd and now it has gotten worse with all the foreign investors. It was only down to Wenger that we have had the success we've had as we have spent far less than most over the last few years.

I'm sure we will not fade away from the top 4 but I think if we want to challenge for the league again I think we need serious investment.

Henry had 7 great seasons for us and has probably been the best player the PL has seen. I wish him well at Barca and to be fair who wouldn't want to play with Eto'o, Messi, Ronaldinho, Deco etc he will score loads over there.

Also Van Persie will be right up there with the best players in the world in the next 2 years IMO.

this is my only gripe...16mill is a joke for Henry in todays football money..

16m could be right up there for record's for players 30+. (well he is virtually there)

True but last year they were offering 30.

he's got 5/6 years left at the top...shevchenko went for a fair bit more and is nowhere near as good.

Courtesy of Sky Sports:

Barcelona claim they have agreed a £16million fee for Thierry Henry.

Thierry Henry - Your View

Reports in Spain have emerged suggesting the Arsenal striker has signed a four-year deal with Barcelona.

Cadena Ser radio, the station that broke the news of David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane's moves to Real Madrid, have stated that Barcelona will pay €24million (£16million) for the Arsenal forward.

The station, which quotes Barcelona officials, says Henry has already put pen-to-paper on a contract spanning until 2011.

Spanish newspapers have also reported the story, but a spokesman from Barcelona has told Sky Sports News that the deal is not yet finalised.

The spokesman claims Henry's move is 'not totally done and dusted' and has insisted that discussions are still ongoing between Arsene Wenger and his Barcelona counterparts.

Barcelona have been tracking Henry for over 12 months, despite the Frenchman signing a long-term deal with The Gunners last summer.

The Catalan giants are looking to strengthen this summer after losing out to Real Madrid in the Spanish title race.

And after Arsenal's disappointing season in the Premiership it appears Henry has made the decision to continue his career at Camp Nou.

Speculation about his future has continued to mount in recent weeks, especially since the departure of David Dein.

at least Arsenal have still got  Baptista.

 rotflmfao

when did he swap his hand with Jeremy Beadle ?

???  ;booder;

Here's something to put it into perspective.

Another transfer rumour today is Tottenham paying £17m for Darren Bent...

yeah just read that one sportinglife....16mill for Henry or 17 for Bent...wonder which one I'd go for.
English (actually British) players go for more than their real value..it's a joke.

Just heard!  Gutted about this and £16m ?  Are you sure?  One of the best players in the world going for only £16m.

Money aside, I'm still gutted.  Henry's been amazing to watch over the years but on the plus side, we do have some great talent coming through.  Can't wish him anything but the best for the move to Spain.

:'(

you wont see the best of henry at barca, no way... his move to them would be disastrous for him in my eyes and he wouldnt really have the chance to perform on biggest league and stages in league football anymore and show the world how good he is (when he isnt injured)

your being sarcastic adam, right?

You should have sold him when Real and Barca offered £50million for him in May 2006.

£16million -- we are about to spend more on Bent...

Personally, I only wish TH14 the very best of luck for the rest of his career.

He only did right for Arsenal, and I have not a bad word to say about him either as a man or a player.

He could have seen out his old contract and moved on a Bosman, but he chose to sign a new four year contract so that Arsenal would get recompensed for his services, and boy did we get some services, many of which will stay with me for ever.

He didn't really seem happy in himself last season playing in a younger team and struggling with injury and fatigue and I honestly feel that it will be mutually benficial for TH14 to move on and let our evolving youth take on more responsibility.

Thierry Henry I salute you.  ;tightend;

 ;applause; ;applause; ;applause;

If all footballers handled themselves like him, and were such 'professionals'. I'm gutted that the PL is losing him. Can anyone list the Worlds top five players and which league they play in? I think 'the best league in the world' could be down to one representative.

Have we?? Are you sure?? Strange that I'm sure he has gone back to Madrid.

Oh and by the way I was  rotflmfao when he scored 4 at Anfield, when was the last time a Liverpool player scored 4 at Anfield??

Crouch scored 3 not long ago....

Im sure I said FOUR or can you just not think the last time a Liverpool player scored 4 at Anfield? I remember the last liverpool player to score 4, and he was worse than Baptista,but that was away from home

when was the last time LIVERPOOL scored 4.... not some liverpool player to score 4 at anfield :p

and he missed a pen in that game :D

ok first post in a while as have been away a fair bit.

Absolutely devastated by the news but slowl coming to terms with it - today was closure for me and my 7 year old son when we took down the Henry posters off his bedroom wall!!

As for the fee - yes £16 mill is light but lets remember he has no sell on value.  When people are paying 16 mill for Bent its because they know that in the vast majority of cases if he were to be sold they would recoup more than 50%so in effect its much lower.  Also Henry was on c. £150,000 a week - thats £7.5 mill a year.  Bent will be on probably £30,000 i.e. £1.5 mill a year.  Over 4 years thats £6mill v £30 mill a difference of £24 mill.  No one other than chelsea is gonna pay £150,000 a week and say £30 mill.  So in the light of this, unfortunately whilst it seems a low figure, there is plenty of justification - we have also saved ourselves 3 years of £7.5 m pa so thats another £22.5 mill.

Henry is a hero to me.  A professional footballer and for once the word professional can not be used lightly.  He graced the premiership and his true professionalism both on and off the pitch are an example to all todays English p*ss head troublemaker baby bentley boys. 

For me the real villain here is the Arsenal board.  They did not think through the consequences of 'sacking' David Dein - a man who's only crime was to see his beloved Arsenal progress and keep up with the pace of 21st Century big business football.  I am sorry Mr Hill Wood and Mr Tax Exile Fiszmann but elegant board rooms and history whilst important will leave us behind to every team that is being bought by billionaire businessmen, from Man City to Newcastle and Birmingham (soon) to Villa.

As for the future - this is make or break for Arsenal.  This is a real turning point and what happens in the transfer window will have a huge influence on our future.  There is no doubt that with Henry we were often a 1 man team with no recognised striker - most forwards could not work with him and everything went through him.  Times change and now is a new era.  I supect a lot of the play now will come via Cesc and this year will be big for Robin Van Persie.  However we need a world class striker quick.

Lets not forget we finished 20 odd points behind Man Ure last season and since then we have lost our talisman, captain and record goalscorer.  They on the other hand have spent £50 odd million!!  Oh Dear!!

Anyway heads up Gooners - lets thank Thierry for the memories and move on with a good young squad that should hopefully be strengthened now.

(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j85/spursboy_2006/thierryhenrybarca.jpg)

never one o let me down Nemesis!!!

spurs forums are putting this down as one of the best days in Spurs's history!!  What a sad life you Spurs fans lead!!!

I too beleive that this is the problem. It was a bad day for Arsenal when Dein left and I think this day was inevitable and I think it is inevitable that in 12 months we will be looking for a new manager.

 rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao

LOL, it is a great day for spurs. The last time they lost a good player he signed for us

oh and dan remind me how much they got for such a great player and club captain at the peak of his game??

Campbell is just a dirty slag. Lied to Spurs, lied to arse.



David Dean leaving was a great day. As for Henry leaving, he isnt he player he once was...