30 November 2023 , 11:51
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Arsenal legend Thierry Henry spent his playing career leaving fans in awe, and proved he still has that effect in retirement by leaving his fellow panellists speechless during CBS' Champions League coverage on Wednesday.
Henry, sitting alongside Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, former Fulham and Tottenham forward Clint Dempsey and ex-Manchester City star Micah Richards, was asked for his best shirt swap throughout his iconic career, which included glorious spells with the Gunners, Barcelona and the French national team.
Carragher revealed he owns a Real Madrid Steve McMannaman shirt, while Dempsey's prized possession is Steven Gerrard's 2010 World Cup shirt from the infamous 'Robert Green game' in South Africa. And Richards could look no further than one of Henry's Arsenal shirts.
But the charismatic Frenchman, 46, blew them all out of the water with his favourite memento from his career. "Ronaldo, final of the World Cup '98," he said nonchalantly, adding the Brazilian's shirt resides "in a box somewhere" rather than having pride of place in a frame.
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Carragher responded with childish excitement, shouting "Wow" while the assembled audience at the waterfront studio in Miami was also hugely impressed.
Henry added that he gave his shirt to Ronaldo in turn, although the Frenchman, aged 20 at the time, was an unused substitute that day. Ironically, the game in question was the most infamous of "R9's" stellar career. He had dominated throughout the 1998 tournament in France with four goals, establishing himself as perhaps the greatest player on the planet.
But things went awry on the day of the final, with rumours that the then Inter Milan star had gone down sick. He was duly left out of the lineup as kick-off neared, only for him to be restored to the starting XI at the last minute.
The 1998 World Cup final was perhaps the nadir of Ronaldo's career, but he atoned four years later in Japan. (Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)It proved to be a miserable day for Brazil, falling two goals behind by half time with Zinedine Zidane netting a brace. A second-half red card for Marcel Desailly made things interesting, but Henry's Arsenal teammate Emmanuel Petit wrapped up a 3-0 victory in stoppage time.
For Ronaldo, it was perhaps the nadir of his career, clearly inhibited by illness as he delivered an ineffective performance, making Henry's possession a fascinating piece of memorabilia.
But the former Real Madrid, PSV and Barcelona star, now aged 47, put things right four years later, lifting the World Cup in Japan after scoring an iconic double in the final against Germany.
Henry made his admiration for him abundantly clear on a previous edition of CBS' Champions League coverage, declaring him "the real Ronaldo" ahead of Manchester United and Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo.