Henry not leaving Barca
In the past few weeks there have been numerous reports circulating about the futrues of many players on the FC Barcelona squad. Now it’s Thierry Henry’s turn. However the Frenchmen is one player whose name has been brought up that Barcelona seems intent on keeping.
Along with the rumors of a Ronaldinho transfer to AC Milan, Henry has long been rumored for a return to the English Premier League. According to Barca club vice-president Ferran Soriano that won’t be happening. When asked about Henry by Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek -
‘I don’t think so. ‘I spoke with him at length a week ago and he is happy in Barcelona.
‘We were a bit disappointed because the team we have is the team to win all competitions and we are not doing very well in the domestic championship. But apart from that he is fine and I’m sure he is not coming back to the UK.’
This is good news for Barca supporters if they can get him playing up to the level he previously played at in the EPL. Soriano wasn’t as commited to bringing back head coach Frank Rijkaard.
Soriano refused to confirm Rijkaard would be in charge next year and revealed there would be a review at the end of the season following a disappointing La Liga campaign.
They do, though, have a final chance of silverware in the Champions League and face Manchester United in the semi-final.
‘You can never say 100% (he will stay) because at the end of the season we’re going to review the performances of the players and coach,’ Soriano added.
‘I think he has no plan to leave Barcelona and go to Chelsea. ‘We’ve decided not to talk about this until the end of the season because we are concentrated and very focused.
‘The two matches against Manchester United are very important for them and for us. And we don’t want to talk about anyone else.’
He continued: ‘We’ve been with him for five years and he has been doing an extremely good job. It can be difficult to manage such a big team with such a number of stars. ‘It’s not easy to manage Ronaldinho, Messi, Henry and Eto’o and the like so we like the way he works, his personal style and the way he represents the club. ‘Obviously the fact we are not getting the results in the domestic league is the fault of everybody including us and including him but we are very happy with Frank Rijkaard.’
Soriano also revealed the club are completely focused on winning the Champions League ahead of their double header against United. ‘It’s one of the best matches you can watch this year or in the last year so everybody is waiting for it. ‘Every competition is different and the players are very concentrated on the Champions League so the Champions League is going to be our thing.’
The Champions League match will take place this Wednesday April 23rd, with kick off set for 11:45 Pacific time. AS always if you are unable to watch the match live on TV you can tune in to LosEstadosLatinos.com where we will provide live updates throughout the Champions League final.
In the other semi-final match up Liverpool will take on Chelsea tomorrow afternoon, which will be updated live as well.
