Thierry Henry ‘desperate’ for new job as Jamie Carragher reveals what’s holding him back
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry’s last managerial role came with the French Olympic team over the summer, as he guided them to a silver medal, but he now is struggling to find another job in football
by Ben Crawford · The MirrorThierry Henry is desperate for another managerial role but is being held back by his job at CBS, says co-star Jamie Carragher.
Henry almost immediately transitioned into coaching upon his retirement from football in 2014, taking up an academy role with his former employers, Arsenal - where he achieved legendary status during his playing days with his 228 goals.
Balancing punditry has never been too much of an issue for the 47-year-old, who, during his first senior stint as an assistant with Belgium in 2016, also worked for Sky Sports. His first full-time head coaching role came in 2018 with Monaco, which he did have to sideline his punditry career for - although he was subsequently sacked by the Ligue 1 club after a year.
Now, the Frenchman is now looking for a route back into management after spells with Montreal Impact, a return to Belgium’s coaching staff, and time in charge of France’s U21 and Olympic side. But is struggling to find a job. According to his fellow pundit Carragher, this is partially due to his impressive analysis on CBS being missed by European audiences and potential employers.
Asked about his work for American outlet CBS, of which the more light-hearted moments are often clipped and shown to a UK audience, Carragher spoke about Henry’s troubles.
“What is actually frustrating a little bit, especially for Thierry Henry, is he’s a brilliant analyst, so the stuff I do on Monday Night Football [for Sky Sports] is the stuff he does on CBS,” Carragher told the Soccer A-Z podcast.
“That comes out before the game, then after the game, he’s a little bit more relaxed - we have a laugh and a joke. But, because of the rights of the Champions League – and we’re sort of for an American audience - it can't be shown in England or Europe.
“So, he [Henry] gets frustrated that all anyone sees in the clips of this show is the funny bits! He's not shown, he's desperate for a manager's job and can’t get one!”
Henry walked away from his France role in the summer due to what the former Juventus and Barcelona forward cited as "personal reasons." He has since signed a new deal with his current American employers, keeping him with CBS through the 2026/27 season. He will continue to cover European football, but unless there are changes to the rights held over the competitions, not for a European audience.
Despite what Carragher may have said about Henry's management ambitions, the man himself appeared to be much more guarded when discussing his future earlier this year. “Do I still want to coach? I don’t know,” Henry said in March. “I cannot go further than that on that question in terms of what I’m going to do next because I don’t know what’s going to come next. But I’m happy with CBS, and I made sure that I could do both.
"It’s time-consuming. I know it is just the national team and not a day-to-day job, but it is time-consuming to think about what team you’re going to have, scouting games, and all of that. It’s not an easy one.
"We are a show that a lot of people talk about. What’s ironic is it’s a show in the U.S. and everybody talks about it in Europe. I never thought in my life that I was going to get stopped in the streets, and the first thing wouldn’t have been my playing career.
"I can go on holiday in the U.S. or wherever, and people come up to me and say, ‘I love your show, and you guys are mad funny.’ It’s a reminder for me and everybody that we do have something special here.”
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