France boss Didier Deschamps has told RMC the idea Thierry Henry could be allowed to play for his country again to fittingly bring down the curtain on his international career "deserves some thought."
France's main sports daily, L'Equipe, this week launched a campaign for Henry, 37, to be picked by Deschamps for Les Bleus' prestigious friendly with Brazil next March to give the former Arsenal forward a more appropriate send-off given his international career.
Henry, who has scored a record 51 goals in 123 international appearances, played his last game for France at the 2010 World Cup, which led to his image being tainted by him being part of Raymond Domenech's squad that went on strike in Knysna and crashed out in the group stages.
Deschamps, who won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 alongside Henry as a player, conceded he would think about the possibility of recalling the ex-Barcelona striker, whose contract with the New York Red Bulls expires this month and who has yet to decide if he will continue playing, but that he and French FA president Noel Le Graet would be the ones to decide whether or not to do so.
"Thierry Henry is an immense player, and he has marked the history of the France team, like certain others," he said. "Today, honestly, I don't have an opinion, but it deserves some thought. I am going to take my time to talk with my president. That people have ideas, that they come from a listener or whether they're in the press... everyone can have ideas. You can find them good or not, but it doesn't bother me."
He added: "Between putting forward an idea and having the feeling that it is becoming almost an obligation, it's rather disappointing, but it deserves some thought. You don't close the door to it, but you don't want people putting pressure on you because of it. People aren't going to put pressure on me. I am the national team coach."
The idea has received a mixed reception with a number of high-profile figures such as Zinedine Zidane, Willy Sagnol, Emmanuel Petit and Domenech stating differing opinions on the matter.
Deschamps and Laurent Blanc were given the opportunity to bid farewell to France fans when they brought the curtain down on their careers during a friendly with England at the Stade de France in 2000.
The ex-Chelsea midfielder argued his and Blanc's situation was entirely different to that of their former international colleague.
"It's two different contexts. We had just finished the Euros. We were European champions and it was the next game," he added. "It is not comparable. We're talking about a player who stopped playing international football some years ago, even if he continued playing in the US. There are other players who didn't have a farewell match either. I'm not going to get into that debate."