Football
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Thierry Henry 'equal to the very best such as Pele and Michel Platini'

Thierry Henry deserves to be regarded on the same level as Pele and Michel Platini after the former Arsenal striker announced his retirement from the game, according to Euro 2000-winning France coach Roger Lemerre.

Henry, 37, called time on his playing career on Tuesday following the expiration of his contract with MLS franchise New York Red Bulls earlier this month.

In addition to becoming Arsenal's all-time leading scorer in his eight-year spell in north London, Henry also surpassed Platini as France's top goalscorer, netting 51 times in 123 appearances for Les Bleus.

Lemerre, 73, told RMC that Henry deserves to be given the same recognition as the very greatest players of the game.

"He's an exemplary person in football," Lemerre, who coached France when Henry and teammates won Euro 2000, said. "He has an exceptional list of honours, he's equal to the very best. And when I say the best, I am of course thinking about Pele, I am thinking about Platini. I think he has been just as influential as the greatest champions."

Lemerre, who was assistant coach to Aime Jacquet when France -- with Henry in the squad -- won the 1998 World Cup, added: "It's a shame to stop. He's going to start a new life.

"It's totally different, but I think that if he's stopped, he's thought long and hard about it and his body is no longer up to it. And not only his body but also his mind. It's something completely logical that happens at a given moment in time."

Having hung up his boots, Henry will become a TV pundit after impressing in the role during last summer's World Cup. The former Juventus and Barcelona forward has signed a deal with Sky Sports to cover games for them.

"I'm a little sad. He was the last of the France '98 generation still playing, even if Robert Pires and David Trezeguet have gone off for a short spell in India," Frank Leboeuf, who won the World Cup with Henry, told RMC. "There's a little melancholy, some nostalgia and at the same time pride to have spent some good times with him.

"I got to know him when he was 20, he became world champion, European champion. Along with Trezeguet, they had everything to prove. They are great players who showed all the quality of French football.

"I am very happy to have been able to play alongside them, less happy to have played against them! There's a time for everything. It's better to stop when people still want you than when they pity you."

France's main sports daily, L'Equipe, recently launched a campaign to convince Henry's former teammate and current France coach Didier Deschamps to pick the forward for March's prestigious friendly with Brazil with the idea being to give Henry a fitting send-off.

The French Football Federation (FFF) ruled out such a move, though they have suggested Henry -- along with others to have reached a century of caps, including Zinedine Zidane and Henry's former Arsenal teammate Patrick Vieira -- would be honoured in some way.

Henry last pulled on the shirt of his country at the controversial 2010 World Cup, ending his international career on a low note, his reputation sullied by the infamous strike of the entire squad following Nicolas Anelka's exclusion.

"His stats speak for themselves," Raymond Domenech, who was Henry's boss in South Africa, is quoted as saying by RMC. "He's one of the greats. In 20 or 30 years, there are names we will remember, and he'll be one of them."

Former international teammate Louis Saha told RMC: "He was an immense player of global proportions. Each appearance was a real event. He had exceptional physical and technical qualities, so it was a pleasure to watch him for all supporters, not only those of Arsenal and France. He has achieved a huge amount."

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