By DPA
Madrid : Thierry Henry has finally signed for FC Barcelona – exactly a year after turning down the Catalan giants.
To the surprise and chagrin of Arsenal, which he is leaving, Henry has joined Barcelona for around 24 million euros, according to the digital version of Mundo Deportivo Friday night.
It seemed that Henry was going to join Barcelona in June 2006, just after Arsenal lost to the Catalans in the Champions Cup final.
For reasons which he did not disclose – Henry is a fairly hermetic and introverted person – he decided to stay on at Arsenal, apparently for the rest of his career.
The negotiations to join Barcelona were carried out by Ferran Soriano, the Barca vice-president with responsibility for economic affairs, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
By finally coming to Spain, Henry will have played in four of Europe's top leagues. He started out in France for AS Monaco, before an unhappy brief spell in Italy at Juventus.
Just before joining Juventus he was about to come to Real Madrid, but then Real president Lorenzo Sanz lacked the cash to sign the lithe striker.
His glory years, of course, were enjoyed at Arsenal, under the benign mentorship of father figure Wenger. Henry led Arsenal to two Premier League titles and two FA Cups in a glorious eight-year spell in North London.
Henry will now link up with Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho, Europe's potentially most devastating forward line. Barcelona are keen to get back to wining ways after a season which promised so much but delivered so little.