Unquestionably, one of the best football players in history is Zinedine Zidane. With Bordeaux, Juventus, and Real Madrid, he won 13 major championships during his career, amassing 125 goals and 140 assists in 689 games. He was also the 1998 Ballon d’Or and World Cup winner.
Zidane became a model for future generations by redefining what it meant to perform in that capacity while sporting the number 10 shirt with his signature grace. He had a way of mesmerising defenders by slipping by them like he was in a trance. For his opponents, it was like sinking into an endless nightmare, but for him, it was like entering a realm of lucid dreams.
He may legitimately claim to have perfected the Frenchman’s technique and elegance. He is known for being among the most technically proficient football players of all time as a result. However, he believes that a Premier League legend is deserving of being at the top of that list.’
Zidane Labelled Thierry Henry “Most Gifted Footballer Ever”
Titi beat the likes of Ronaldinho to top spot in Zidane’s thinking’
By the time he hung up his boots in 2006, Zidane had likely grown weary of the fantasy football player, having spent most of his football career in sunny Spain.
There are plenty of players in the Iberian Peninsula who can perform amazing feats with the ball at their feet. Although Ronaldinho was on his mind, the Frenchman chose Thierry Henry, a legend of Barcelona and Arsenal, as the most talented football player he had ever seen. According to talkSPORT, he stated:
“Thierry Henry is arguably the most talented football player to have ever played the beautiful game, but Ronaldinho is a unique player.”
Is Thierry Henry The Greatest Premier League Player Ever?
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone better, especially on a technical level
In the early 2000s, Henry formed the better half of his intimidating strike tandem with Dennis Bergkamp, scoring 24 goals or more in five consecutive Premier League seasons. He scored 175 goals and provided 74 assists in 258 appearances between 1999 and 2007, won the English Premier League twice (including one when he was unbeatable), and was named Player of the Season twice.
Is he the Premier League’s greatest player ever? Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, and Mohamed Salah are a few who may have an opinion on that, but it’s undeniable that his skill has been extremely hard to duplicate since he left for Barcelona’s Costa Brava coastline in 2007.
The Frenchman was the face of England and Arsenal for almost ten years. If Henry had even the slightest chance, he could do it all: a body feint here, a stunning talent to loop the ball over a defender’s head before volleying into the back of the net there. To see what Zidane saw in him, one only needs to look at a highlight reel.
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