Thierry Henry joins Pirès' jubilee in Metz with Drogba, Eto'o and Wenger

Thierry Henry will indeed be present at Robert Pirès’ jubilee on October 6 at the Stade Saint-Symphorien in Metz. FC Metz confirmed his participation on Wednesday, adding him to an already impressive list of legends that includes Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Franck Ribéry and Arsène Wenger on the bench.

The two 1998 World Cup winners shared a dressing room with France, but especially at Arsenal from 2000 to 2006. Henry, who arrived a year before Pirès at the Gunners, also left a year after him. “We can’t wait to see these two legends reunited on the pitch,” the club wrote on X. At 52, Robert Pirès has decided to celebrate a career that ended in 2014 after a brief stint in Goa, India.

Henry will play in the “Arsenal Legends” jersey, alongside Patrick Vieira, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Petit, Sylvain Wiltord, Kolo Touré and Lukas Podolski, among others. Facing them will be the “Pirès All Stars” and “FC Metz Legends”.

Metz supporters will also see Miralem Pjanic, Emmanuel Adebayor, Mamadou Niang, Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly, Youri Djorkaeff, Bixente Lizarazu and Lilian Thuram. Aimé Jacquet will take a seat on the bench alongside Wenger. Without a position since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where he led the French youth team to a historic silver medal, Thierry Henry has since become a consultant for CBS Sports — a role Pirès also holds on another channel.

The only notable major absence from this exceptional lineup: Zinédine Zidane.