By Lee Tae-seung (Xinhua Sports News) Thierry Henry, a legendary striker who represented France, wonders what Lionel Messi is like.

Messi, who joined Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga from English Premier League side Arsenal in 2007, was more of a "winning machine," according to Henri.

On Wednesday, ex-footballers Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, and Micah Richards had the pleasure of hosting Thierry Henry for a chat on their soccer podcast, The Rest Is Football. Henri recently took over as head coach of the France U-21 national team.

"Barcelona was Messi's team," Henri said, recalling his time playing with Messi.

"I wanted to be recognized, but competitiveness is something that comes out to win the game," he said. "It doesn't matter if I'm good or he's good, as long as the team wins," he continued. "I look at the players and think: 'Who can turn the game around'," he continued, "and if the answer is me, then I just have to work hard. At Barcelona, the answer was always Messi," he said, adding that Messi's ability can change the outcome of a match. 카지노사이트원

Henri also said, "I have a lot of pride, but there are times when you have to let it go." "It's funny when you play for Messi and he brings you three or four goals a game and you say, 'I want one too! I want one too!'" he said, followed by a comical mimicry.

"'Oh, no, no, I'll just do my job. If (Messi) goes, 'Go and score a goal,' we'll win the game."

Henri spent eight seasons at Arsenal between 1999 and 2007. Despite winning two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners, he was unable to win the "big one" (the UEFA Champions League trophy), so he left the club in 2007 to join Barcelona.

However, when he arrived in 2007/08, Barcelona hadn't lifted any trophies. Henri was disappointed, but he decided to stay for another season, which turned out to be a godsend.

Under Pep Guardiola, Barcelona won every competition they could in 2008/09, winning six trophies that season alone. Barcelona won La Liga, the Champions League, the Copa del Rey (FA Cup), the Supercopa de España (Super Cup), and the Club World Cup. They also won the UEFA Super Cup, marking the beginning of their golden era.

"If you think you're important, you have to be able to let go of your ego," Henri said. "I had 25 touches of the ball in the first and second half at Arsenal. But in Barcelona, I only had four. That was not easy for me to accept," he confessed. The lack of touches meant he couldn't set many personal records.

Henri explained that he was not pessimistic. "What are you trying to achieve as a player? You have to decide if you want to score a lot of goals or if you want to win competitions." "Of course, it would be great to do well and win six trophies. Because Messi was there, I was able to give up my record for the greater good."

Henri scored 228 goals in 375 games for Arsenal, making him the King of London. He played eight seasons, which means he scored just under 30 goals per season.

At Barcelona, it was a different story. He couldn't bring his Arsenal form - 19 goals in 47 games in 2007/08 and 26 goals in 42 games in 2008/09 - to Spain. It was a good record, but not as good as Arsenal's, but Henri is not unhappy. Thanks to Messi and Barcelona, he was able to add the 'big one' to his career.

Lee also gave his assessment of Messi's playstyle.

"Messi is criticized for walking a lot, but if you watch him closely, he runs like crazy when he gets the ball," says Henri. "As strikers know, it's very hard to dribble while running with the ball. You have to find a way to pass, you have to fight, you have to make a decision to beat a defender with your dribble, and you have to be tackled."

But Messi does it all with ease, Henri testifies. "It's hard to run like that, so it's natural to walk," Henri said, "and I don't mind walking all day if it's going to win me a championship," he added with a laugh. Henri also had a lesson for up-and-comers who dribble a lot but don't create decisive situations.

"Prospects, don't think you're going to be like Messi. We're talking about Lionel Messi here," he said, causing another round of laughter from the panel. "If you can't do it like Messi, don't do it like Messi," he said.

As the four retired soccer players went through Henri's list of accomplishments, he reminisced about what it was like at Barcelona. Henri spoke fondly of his time at Barcelona, saying that "under Pep Guardiola, I realized the joy of pressing forward." He asked Shearer and Lineker to agree, saying, "Wouldn't it be great if they let us play for Manchester City now?" and concluded by comparing the greatest teams of his time to the greatest teams of the modern era, saying, "Playing for Barcelona back then is exactly the same as playing for Man City now".