Record-setter Henry staying put
By TIMES WIRES
Published May 20, 2006
LONDON - Thierry Henry is staying with Arsenal after all.
The French striker and club captain said Friday he agreed to a new four-year contract with the Gunners, ending months of speculation about his future.
Henry had one year left on his deal with the English Premier League club and had been widely reported to be mulling a move to Spanish champion FC Barcelona, which beat Arsenal 2-1 in Wednesday's Champions League final.
"I've never played in Spain and never will," Henry said. "I played in Italy and France and I can tell you for sure, (England) is the best country to play football.
"This is my last contract. This is where I belong and where my heart is."
Henry, 28, had one year left on his contract with Arsenal, which he joined from Juventus in August 1999. He has helped Arsenal win two EPL titles and became the club's record scorer this season.
Henry has 214 goals for Arsenal, including 164 in 237 league appearances, and is widely considered the best player in the league. He was voted the Football Writers' player of the year this season for a record third time.
Henry, a mainstay on the French national team heading into next month's World Cup, could earn $244,000 a week, according to British papers. That would likely make him one of England's two highest-paid players, along with Michael Ballack, who joined Chelsea on Monday from German champions Bayern Munich.
National team coach meets prosecutorsItaly's national team coach was questioned by prosecutors investigating a scandal rocking Italian soccer three weeks before the World Cup.
Marcello Lippi is not under investigation in any of the inquiries into allegations of fraud, game-fixing and illegal betting.
"I was questioned as a witness," he said. "I responded to the prosecutors' questions. From this point on, I will only think about the national team."
Prosecutors questioned him for three hours. They are trying to establish whether Lippi was pressured or influenced by the official at the center of the scandal, former Juventus general manager Moggi, to select certain players for the national team. Juventus won its second straight title Sunday, but the club might be stripped of the title - plus last year's championship - if found guilty of fraud.
OWEN READY TO GO:Michael Owen isn't worried about the pressure of being England's main striker at the World Cup.
He would rather prove he's fully recovered from a broken foot which has limited him to 30 minutes of play in 2006.
With key forward Wayne Rooney struggling to recover from his broken foot in time for England's Group B games, and Liverpool striker Peter Crouch untested in international competition, the focus is again on Owen, who's relying on experience to cut through any hype.
"I never get so excited that I can't think and I never get too low," Owen said at England's training camp in Portugal. "I'm able to keep a middle ground on a lot of things."
DUTCH FRAUD CASE:Dutch club ADO The Hague said one of its players was being investigated for fraud, amid a preliminary investigation into match-fixing in the Netherlands. Prosecutors at The Hague announced their investigation into match-fixing in the Dutch leagues on Thursday.
MEXICO:San Luis and Pachuca played a scoreless tie in the first leg of the Clausura (second half of the season) final late Thursday in San Luis Potosi. The teams meet again Sunday.
COACHING MOVES:Steve Bruce is staying as Birmingham City's manager after his team was relegated from the EPL. ... Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam named Henk ten Cate as coach. The Dutchman was an assistant at Barcelona.