Thierry Henry was revealed on Monday as a new shareholder of ambitious Italian club Como, who are aiming for bigger things after rising from amateur football to the country’s second tier.
France icon Henry was presented by the Serie B club along with CEO and former Chelsea captain Dennis Wise at a media conference in the lakeside city.
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“It’s a new chapter in my life,” Henry told reporters.
He said, ‘I know the love for football here… People come to visit the city. In France or Spain people talk about the beauty of the lake or the city but now it’s time to talk about the club.
Como, owned by Indonesian tobacco giant Djarum, is aiming to return to Serie A for the first time since rising from bankruptcy in 2003 and move to Serie B in 2017 in fourth-tier Serie D, where they finished 13th the previous season. did.
Wise said Serie A was Como’s “long-term goal”. The former England international said the club was also working to rebuild the youth academy to “compete with AC Milan and Atalanta” in an attempt to develop young talent and build a new stadium.
Earlier this month Como signed Henry’s former Arsenal teammate Cesc Fabregas, who joined Ligue 1 team Monaco after a difficult season, for which he has not played a game since September.
And on Monday he announced the signing of attacker Patrick Cutrone from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Fabregas also became a shareholder in the club as part of his deal to join Como, whose Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium – owned by the city – has the stunning backdrop of one of the world’s most famous lakes.
He is expected to make his debut for Como on Monday night in the Lombardy derby with Brescia.
“The most important thing about Cesk is his brain,” Henry said.
“I think we sometimes forget to develop their (player’s) mind. When you’re faster there, you win, and so he stays.”
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Wise declined to reveal any details about Henry’s role in the club, nor how much Henry had invested in becoming a shareholder. According to Wise, his stake in the club was “private”.
“Thierry is a shareholder and that’s all I set out to say,” Wise said.
Asked what his official title or responsibilities are, Wise said: “We want to understand his experiences and his views”.
“He’s welcome to come and talk at any time, we’ll listen. You can call him an ambassador… We’ll talk in depth about football.”
Henry said that based on his other commitments as a pundit and assistant manager with the Belgium national team, he would “come as far as I can” to Como as part of his role.
Henri won several trophies during an illustrious career at Arsenal and Barcelona and was part of the France side that won 1998 with the likes of Zinedine Zidane World cup.
He retired as a player in 2015 and then coached Monaco and Montreal before becoming a television pundit.
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