Thierry Henry: “with Hazard I asked myself: what on earth is he doing?”

The France u-21 manager spoke about the decision from Eden Hazard to retire from football.

Thierry Henry, as well as being a French football legend, is considered an off-field expert in terms of the way in which he imparts knowledge as a pundit and commentator. In September, the ex-Arsenal forward was selected as the France u-21 manager, putting him in charge of winning Gold in the Paris Olympic Games.

In an interview with L’Équipe, the manager analysed various topics and also recognised which player had most impressed him in recent times.

“My favourite player of the last few years is Eden Hazard”, said Henry. “It was just... ‘wow’, and he’s such an instinctive player! The only thing you have to do is give him guidance in the zones where he will receive the ball and then he’ll be able to express himself. In the structure, he does what he wants. How many times have I sat on the bench and thought ‘what on earth is he doing? Oh! Amazing!’ Even I’ve scored goals when I’ve heard my manager shout not to shoot. So you can give instructions, but you can’t control instinct”.

Asked about whether players lose their instincts after receiving instructions from the manager, Henry, who also recently opened up on mental health, gave the example of Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid: “It’s not about French players, but instinctive players. It’s hard to clip the wings of an instinctive player. You have to let them express themselves with their instinct, but all while maintaining the structure.”

“Why does Jude Bellingham express himself well at Madrid?” he continued. “Because the structure allows for it to happen. Three midfielders give him stability behind and the attackers that he has ahead of him make runs to open the space, giving him time to