Former Arsenal and France football legend Thierry Henry, 41, was suspended by Monaco on Thursday, 24 January, and is set to be sacked.
Although Monaco have a tiny fanbase they have always been considered one of the powerhouses of French football and were Ligue 1 champions as recently as 2017 under former manager Leonardo Jardim.
They started the season badly and Henry, who was appointed three months ago, has been unable to arrest their decline.
See that @ThierryHenry has been suspended from his coaching duties at Monaco whilst the club decides what to do with him. Seems a tad humiliating and somewhat disrespectful to treat an absolute legend that way. If you’re going fire him, then fire him.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) 24 January 2019
"Monaco have decided to suspend Thierry Henry… until a final decision (on his future) is made," the club said in a statement.
Franck Passi, Henry's assistant coach, Franck Passi, took training on Friday but the French sports newspaper L'Equipe said Jardim, who was himself sacked in October, is expected to return on Friday, 25 January in an amazing about-turn by the club's board.
Only hours before he was suspended Henry came out with some bullish quotes ahead of Saturday's crunch match with fellow strugglers Dijon.
Thierry Henry’s suspension as Monaco coach pending a final decision is merely procedural — he has been sacked and has left the club. A statement is expected from Henry in due course. His predecessor Leonardo Jardim is set to return — hearing deal has already been done #ASMonaco
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) 24 January 2019
"We need guys who want to save the club, who don't think about themselves. We're going to war. Despite the results we are still alive," he said.
Jardim led Monaco into the Champions League semi-finals in 2017 with a rich crop of young players, including Kylian Mbappe, Tiemoué Bakayoko, Fabinho and Bernardo Silva — most of whom were subsequently sold off and replaced with inferior footballers.
Monaco have picked up only two points in their last five league matches and Henry has clearly "lost the players".
Some support for Thierry Henry. Eden Hazard: “I have no doubts that he will become a great coach in the future. He’s welcome at the Belgium national team. If he wants to return, he knows where to find us.” #cfc #asm pic.twitter.com/2d97IG0w4l
— Kristof Terreur 📰🎥 (@HLNinEngeland) 25 January 2019
They were knocked out of the French Cup by Ligue 2 side Metz on Tuesday, 22 January, and suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat at home to Strasbourg on Saturday, 19 January 25.
Henry made an abusive remark to a Strasbourg player and later apologised but it clearly showed the usually affable Frenchman was losing his composure under intense pressure.
Henry — who earned a fortune with his "Va Va Voom" TV adverts for French car giant Renault — started out playing for Monaco and enjoyed a flourishing career with Arsenal, Barcelona and France, with whom he won a World Cup.
Aston Villa were close to making Thierry Henry their new manager/head coach. Big changes ahead at #avfc but think the last few months underline why Dean Smith was the sensible long-term appointment..
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) 24 January 2019
He worked as assistant coach with Belgium for two years and after the 2018 World Cup in Russia decided he wanted to be his own boss.
Henry was on the brink of taking over at Bordeaux and Aston Villa but eventually went back to Monaco. But things have gone disastrously there and even the signing of Cesc Fabregas from Chelsea earlier this month has not helped.
