Thierry Henry hasn’t announced whether he will retire at the end of the MLS season or play on, but Red Bull Head of Global Soccer Gerard Houllier said he expects the French superstar to hang up his cleats — and admits whether he does or not, the team needs a third Designated Player.
“I’ll have a talk with Thierry soon. I’ve got an idea of his intention. I think he wants to retire,” the Paris-based Houllier said after the Red Bulls’ 1-0 friendly win over Arsenal on Saturday. “I think he wants to retire, but we need to check. His performance was good.”
Henry will turn 37 next month, and the 4 ¹/₂–year contract he signed following the 2010 World Cup expires after this season. He has been coy about his plans, and said only “we’ll see after the season.”
The striker declined comment on Houllier’s statements, but Houllier said whatever Henry decides will impact the kind of player the Red Bulls target this summer.
Whether Henry retires or not, Houllier acknowledged they will be looking to land another Designated Player to pair with Henry and Tim Cahill — and possibly to take the torch from Henry.
“We are looking at … several options. But we want to make sure we take the right one, otherwise, we will wait until the end of the season,” said Houllier, who flew in from Los Angeles on Saturday morning. “We’re looking at a third one, but we’re looking at different targets.”
Red Bulls sporting director Andy Roxburgh — who is based in the United States and reports to Houllier — told The Post the club has funds to add another Designated Player, but said that could just as easily come in the winter if the right targets aren’t available.
Houllier echoed that, but said he can see whatever addition the team makes having a huge impact going forward.
“We don’t want to spend as much as we did before [on Henry and Cahill]. Probably we definitely need a DP,” Houllier said. “But we need to take the right person, and I think the team will go through another cycle. But I’m pleased with the way they played [Saturday].”
The Red Bulls upset FA Cup champion Arsenal, and Henry — who has an MLS-high 10 assists — notched another against his former club when he set up Bradley Wright-Phillips’ goal. But with the Red Bulls just 5-6-9 and fourth in the MLS’s Eastern Conference, this performance just set the bar higher and underscored the club’s underachievement.
“That game showed we can do better than we have,” said Houllier, who nonetheless added he is “happy with the job [Roxburgh and coach Mike Petke] have done so far.”