Thierry Henry quits Sky Sports punditry role to focus solely on his career in management

THIERRY HENRY has quit his punditry role at Sky Sports to focus solely on a career in football management.

The Belgium assistant boss, 40, had been working at Sky since December 2014, immediately after retiring as a player.

Now, in a statement posted on Twitter, Henry has claimed he must leave to follow his dreams of becoming a football manager.

Henry revealed: "Over the last four years I have had some extremely rewarding coaching experiences in football.

"These experiences have only made me more determined to fulfil my long term ambition to become a football manager.

"It is with sadness, therefore, that I have decided that I must leave Sky Sports to enable me to spend more time on the pitch and concentrate on my journey to achieving that goal.

"I would like to thank everyone at Sky for making me feel so welcome and at ease throughout my time with them and I wish them all the best for the future. Great memories."

Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis said: "Thierry is a true Premier League legend and we've loved having him as part of our coverage.

"For four years he has helped us take viewers closer to the game, getting tremendous insight in speaking to the biggest names in football and analysing matches as someone fresh from the dressing room of the biggest clubs.

"We're sorry he's leaving us but we've known he has a real passion for coaching and he has our full support in making that career every bit as successful as his playing days."