'Don't talk about my club like this!' - Thierry Henry told to 'shut up' by Xavi for disrespecting Barcelona motto

Shortly after Henry swapped Arsenal for Barcelona in 2007, the Frenchman drew the ire of the Spaniard for questioning the Blaugrana's "Més que un club" (more than a club) mantra. The former Gunner explained how Xavi scolded him and said, "Don't talk about my club like this". But, over time, he grew to understand the midfielder's point.

He said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet: "When I joined Barcelona, I was upset as I was the new one on the block - people are having a go at you more than the guy that won before, which I understand but it does wind you up. I always remember, I was with Samuel Eto’o, we’re going up the stairs at the Camp Nou, and I’m looking at the [club motto] Més que un club. I’m talking to Samuel Eto’o, and I said ‘Més que un club? Come on man’. Xavi was behind me, and I didn’t see he was behind me. He goes ‘Oi – what did you say?’ He said, ‘Don’t talk about my club like this, you’ve never won anything here. Shut up, work, and when you win something one day, you can talk about it.’ I looked at him at that moment, he was well within his rights for me to understand what it was – because I didn’t know what it was. Now I know what it is, because I lost there, I won there, I understood what the club meant and what it means. This is why the club is what the club is, because Xavi passed it onto me at that moment. I didn’t say anything back, and it’s not like me to not have the last word, but I looked at him and said sorry. With Barcelona, they will all hammer you with what the club is. Anyone who went to La Masia, anyone who won there, they will talk about to you, they will pass it on, because they believe in it, because they have a duty, they have a way of playing, you like it, or you don’t. They are proud of what they do, and proud of the club – but it’s nice to have people around the club like that.”

After that humbling moment, Henry had a successful spell with Barcelona, winning two La Ligas, one Copa del Rey, and one Champions League, among other trophies. He was, arguably, not the player he was at Arsenal but the forward contributed to the Catalan outfit's success and perhaps Xavi's rebuke helped him along the way.

Aside from his punditry work, former France Olympic Football coach Henry is likely to want to get back into management in the not-so-distant future. Xavi, meanwhile, is still looking for his next coaching role after leaving Barcelona in May 2024.