France football legend Thierry Henry was on Monday confirmed as a new shareholder of ambitious Italian club Como.
Como have shown their ambitions recently after rising from the amateur ranks to the country’s second tier.
Henry was presented by the Serie B club at a news conference in the lakeside city, alongside CEO and former Chelsea captain Dennis Wise.
“It’s a new chapter in my life,” Henry told reporters.
“I know the love for football here… People come to visit the town. People in France or Spain, they talk about the lake or the beauty of the town, but now it’s time to talk about the club.”
Como are owned by Indonesian tobacco giant Djarum who is targeting a return to Serie A for the first time since 2003.
After rising from bankruptcy and the fourth-tier Serie D in 2017 to Serie B, where it finished 13th last season.
Henry said he “will come as much as I can” to Como as part of his role, depending on his other commitments as a pundit and assistant manager with the Belgium national team.
Earlier this month, Como signed Thierry Henry’s former Arsenal teammate Cesc Fabregas, who joined after a difficult season at Ligue 1 team Monaco, where he did not play a game after September.
Fabregas also became a shareholder at the club as part of his deal to join Como, whose Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium, owned by the city, has the stunning backdrop of one of the world’s most famous lakes.
On Monday, the club announced the signing of attacker Patrick Cutrone from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“The most important thing about Cesc is his brain,” said Henry.
“I think we sometimes forget to develop their (player’s) brain. When you’re fast there, you’ve won, and that’s why he’s lasted.”
Wise refused to reveal any specifics regarding Thierry Henry’s role at the club, nor how much Henry had invested in order to become a shareholder. His stake in the club was “private,” according to Wise.
