Former Manchester United head of security, Ned Kelly, has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson passed up the opportunity to sign Thierry Henry before he joined Arsenal.
Henry was signed by Arsene Wenger for £11million from Juventus in 1999 and went on to become one of the most prolific goal scorers in the history of the Premier League.
The 1998 World Cup winner netted 228 goals in all for the Gunners – including two in a loan spell in the twilight of his career – and is the club’s all-time record scorer.
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During his time at Arsenal he won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups before eventually leaving for Barcelona in 2007.
But according to Kelly, who also acted as a bodyguard for Eric Cantona, Ferguson, David Beckham and , it was Cantona’s brother, Jean-Marie, that alerted United that Henry was willing to make the switch to Old Trafford.
“In the tunnel after the game my phone goes, Eric’s older brother Jean-Marie [Cantona] says, ‘Ned, tell Alex [Ferguson] that Thierry Henry wants to come to the club’,” Kelly told beIN Sports.
“Now this was before he [Henry] went to Arsenal, his first choice was Manchester United. So I go to the boss and say, ‘boss, I’ve just had Jean-Marie Cantona on the phone, he had said Henry wants to come to the club’.
“He [Ferguson] says, ‘no way, he’s always f****** injured’. He went to Arsenal, the rest is history.”
After leaving Arsenal, Henry went on to claim an historic treble at Barcelona under Pep Guardiola in the 2008/2009 season.
He picked up another league title the following campaign before heading for the Major League Soccer.
