Arsene Wenger is in no hurry to return to management but the former Arsenal boss says fellow Frenchman Thierry Henry is interested in taking over at Bordeaux.
The Ligue 1 side suspended manager Gus Poyet last week for his comments on the club’s transfer dealings after the sale of striker Gaetan Laborde to Montpellier.
“Yes, he (Henry) wants to do it, he is intelligent and he has the qualities,” Wenger, who is on an extended holiday in Corsica, told local newspaper Corse Matin.
“The existential question that we always ask ourselves is whether we are ready to sacrifice our life for the coaching profession.”
Wenger ended his 22-year tenure at Arsenal in May, while Henry, who played under Wenger at the North London club, became assistant manager of World Cup semi-finalists Belgium in 2016.
In August 2016, Henry became second assistant manager of the Belgium national team, working alongside head coach Roberto Martínezand fellow assistant Graeme Jones. In an interview with NBC Sports, Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku praised Henry for his work with him, stating, “Henry is the best thing that has happened to me because since I came to England aged 18 I have had the best mentors. Thierry for me is the best.
Every day whether it is positive and negative I take it in my stride because I know what is expected from the top level.” At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Belgium reached the semi-final, but lost to Henry’s home nation France 1–0. Henry picked up a Bronze medal after Belgium defeated England 2–0 in the third-place play-off to secure their best ever World Cup finish.
Henry has received many plaudits and awards in his football career. He was runner-up for the 2003 and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Yearawards; in those two seasons, he also won back-to-back PFA Players’ Player of the Year titles. Henry is the only player ever to have won the FWA Footballer of the Year three times (2003, 2004, 2006), and the French Player of the Year on a record four occasions. Henry was voted into the Premier League Overseas Team of the Decade in the 10 Seasons Awards poll in 2003,and in 2004 he was named by football legend Pelé on the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players.