While Thierry Henry is a prominent figure on UEFA Champions League Today coverage, his passion for coaching remains undeniable. However, his managerial record so far hasn’t quite matched his legendary playing career, widely regarded as one of the greatest in Premier League and international football.
Currently, Henry leads the French national under-21 team and will be at the helm of the Olympic squad for the 2024 Games. His coaching experience also includes stints as assistant coach for the Belgian national team (2016-18, 2021-22) and head coach for clubs like Monaco (2018-19) and Montreal Impact (2019-21).
After leaving Montreal, Henry returned to punditry. He joined CBS Sports as a UEFA Champions League analyst and consults for Amazon Prime Video’s Premier League and Ligue 1 coverage. However, he revealed this week that his contract is coming up at CBS Sports as he, along with host Kate Abdo and fellow analysts Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher, have formed one of the most popular studio crews in sports.
Here’s what Henry said during a Q&A with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch about how he balances his work as a pundit with his current coaching gig:
“Obviously, having the opportunity to coach the Under-21 and the Under-23 for the big games, I made sure that I could do both. So that tells you something because I would have stopped CBS if I didn’t see a value of it. I do understand that if something is missing, then a lot will be missing. I’m not talking about me. It can be Micah, it can be Kate, it can be Jamie. If we’re not together, I don’t think it will be the exact same show.
What’s going to happen after my two years with the Under-21 (which ends in summer 2025)? I don’t know what’s going to happen. All I know is right now I’m happy to be here and don’t want to miss anything. I don’t know where my mind is going to be in two years. Do I still want to coach? I don’t know. I cannot go further than that on that question in terms of what I’m going to do next because I don’t know what’s going to come next. But I’m happy with CBS and I made sure that I could do both.
It’s time-consuming. I know it is just the national team and not a day-to-day job, but it is time-consuming to think about what team you’re going to have, scouting games, and all of that. It’s not an easy one. But I wanted to make sure that I was going to be still part of this because I’m aware of what we have. It is special. We are a show that a lot of people talk about. What’s ironic is it’s a show in the U.S. and everybody talks about it in Europe. I never thought in my life that I was going to get stopped in the streets and the first thing wouldn’t have been my playing career, I can go on holiday in the U.S. or wherever and people come up to me and say, ‘I love your show and you guys are mad funny.’ It’s a reminder for me and everybody that we do have something special here.”
Considering his coaching aspirations and his CBS contract expiring this year, Henry’s future as a pundit remains uncertain.
Interestingly, Henry was considered for the France women’s national team head coach position before his current coaching role after Corinne Diacre’s departure. However, he opted to wait for a potential opportunity to lead the United States men’s national team. That never came, as Gregg Berhalter was named USMNT boss after his contract expired, and an extensive search led right back to the man who coached U.S. Soccer since 2018.
Henry spoke about the chemistry of the Champions League Today quartet and spoke about the comparisons to another beloved studio show, Inside the NBA.
“So yeah, the situation is me,” Henry said when asked about keeping the band together for a few more years. “We don’t know what the future holds. I know what the present does. I always say to people about this show: We are all real. Nobody is acting on the show. You see Micah on the show; that is exactly how he is. Jamie, the same. Kate, the same. Me? The same. Nobody is acting to be loved or not loved. You can see when Charles Barkley is upset. You can see when Shaq is. They don’t try to cushion it.”
