🚨 Thierry Henry on whether Lionel Messi could have succeeded in the Premier League: “Wayne, I also got asked the question recently. ‘Thierry, do you think Leo could have survived in England?’ I said, ‘Survived?’ ‘Yes. The Premier League. The defenders don’t give you space.’ I told him, ‘You know, I played in that league for 8 years. I remember it quite well.’ And then I played with Lionel Messi. So I think I am in a reasonable position to answer. When I arrived at Barcelona, I was used to English football. You had to be quick, strong, ready for contact. At Arsenal, if you took too long to make a decision, somebody was already on your back. Then I trained with Leo. One day he received the ball with two players close to him. I was waiting for him to pass it back. It was the sensible thing to do. He didn’t. One little touch, a change of direction, and he was through them. I said, ‘Leo, how did you know there was room?’ He looked at me and said, ‘There was room.’ That was his explanation. Very useful. But that’s what people miss when they talk about space. They think space is something a defender gives you. With certain players, space is something they create. Wayne, you mentioned Cherki’s goal against Liverpool. The movement against Frimpong, the finish, beautiful. That’s the kind of football you want to see. Everybody celebrated it, and rightly so. Now imagine I said, ‘Cherki could never do that in the Premier League. The defenders are too quick. They don’t give you time.’ You’d tell me to watch the match again. So why does the argument suddenly make sense when we’re talking about Messi? And don’t tell me Leo only did it because Barcelona were built around him. Of course we played to his strengths. You’d have to be a very strange coach to have Messi in your team and tell him not to touch the ball. At Arsenal we played to the strengths of our best players too. Every great team does that. Then he left Barcelona. People said, ‘Let’s see him somewhere else.’ He went to Paris. It wasn’t always easy, but he still contributed. Then he led Argentina to a World Cup. And after all that, people are still saying, ‘Yes, but could he do it on a rainy afternoon in England?’ My friend, he was doing it to English clubs in the Champions League. Those defenders didn’t become different people when they boarded a plane to Spain. I know the Premier League is difficult. I respect it enormously. But difficulty is not a magical force that makes a player’s first touch disappear. A reporter once asked me what I would have told Leo if he’d joined Arsenal during my time there. I said, ‘First, I’d tell him welcome.’ ‘And then?’ ‘I’d tell everybody else to give him the ball.’ Because that is the part that makes me sad about this debate. English supporters missed the chance to watch one of the greatest players ever do this every weekend in their own stadiums. That should be the regret. Instead, some people speak as if Messi was lucky to avoid England. No. I think England was unlucky to miss Messi.”