‘Messi Suffered An Emotional Shock’ When Leaving FC Barcelona

The playing histories of Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi are forever intertwined due to their time spent together at FC Barcelona.

As Henry finally turned his back on the club where he made his bones in Premier League giants Arsenal, the Frenchman linked up with budding talent Messi who was just finding his feet in elite football in the late 2000s.

With mentors such as the World Cup winner, current first team coach Xavi Hernandez and then-manager Pep Guardiola, the Argentine began fulfilling his promise with their success reaching its peak in 2009 when the Blaugrana won the sextuple.

Henry therefore knows Messi intimately and has spoken to L’Equipe on how difficult the seven-time Ballon d’Or holder’s adaptation has been since moving to Paris Saint Germain as a free agent last summer ahead of PSG’s Champions League last 16 second leg clash against Real Madrid.

“He left Barcelona crying,” Henry pointed out to the magazine that has given Messi dismal player ratings as low as three and four of 10 for his displays this season.

“He suffered an emotional shock because he did not expect to have to leave. People say that he has everything in Paris, but it’s not that obvious. When I left Arsenal for Barca, it took me a year to get well. I arrived injured, after a divorce, and I had to learn a new game system,” Henry explained.

As for another former Barca charge in Neymar, who fled the Camp Nou in a world record $260mn transfer in 2017 for PSG, Henry highlighted the public cries for help the Brazilian has made in an indicator that everything might not be OK.

“He has talked about well-being and my perception is: can we listen to him? He has asked for help because he has problems, like any human being,” Henry said.

Henry told of how in his time as a footballer, players were expected to keep a stiff upper lip and their problems to themselves in fear of later reprisals.

“You came to the locker room: ‘Are you okay?’ [they would ask]. ‘Yes’, even if things didn’t go well”.

“‘Did you sleep well?’ ‘Yes’, even if it wasn’t the case,” Henry went on. ‘Do you have pain?’ ‘No’, even if you did.

“Today a footballer can open up much more, fortunately. Before, one did not comment that he was not mentally fit,” Henry concluded.