Thierry Henry Sacked as Monaco Manager; Leonardo Jardim to Return to Club

Monaco announced on Friday that Thierry Henry had been sacked as manager and that former boss Leonardo Jardim had replaced the Frenchman at the helm of the Ligue 1 side. 

The club said in the statement:

"AS Monaco announces the return of Leonardo Jardim to the position of AS Monaco manager.

"Leonardo Jardim has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Club and, together with his technical staff, will take up his duties as of Sunday.

"This Friday, the club officially terminated the employment of Thierry Henry.

"Franck Passi, who led the training session this afternoon, will be in charge of the team for the upcoming match against Dijon."

Henry was suspended on Thursday, with Monaco just a point and a place off the bottom of Ligue 1 after 21 games.

The former Arsenal striker took charge in October after Jardim was sacked, but the team won only five of his 20 matches in charge.

Monaco were hammered 5-1 by Strasbourg in the league on Saturday and were then knocked out of the Coupe de France on Tuesday by second-division side Metz.

Henry also found himself embroiled in controversy for a "foul-mouthed rant" aimed at Strasbourg defender Kenny Lala, per Goal's Dom Farrell.

Henry said it was with "great sadness" that he left Monaco in a post on Twitter:

Monaco will hope Jardim can turn around their season and avoid relegation during his second spell.

The 44-year-old won the Ligue 1 title with Monaco in 2017 but then saw his team dismantled, as Kylian Mbappe, Fabinho, Thomas Lemar, Benjamin Mendy, Bernardo Silva and Tiemoue Bakayoko all departed.

Monaco have invested in the January transfer window, bringing in Cesc Fabregas from Chelsea, Naldo from Schalke and Fode Toure from Lille.

The team face a crucial game at fellow strugglers on Dijon on Saturday. Victory would see them move level on points with Antoine Kombouare's men.

Monaco then have a home fixture against Toulouse, which is likely to be Jardim's first game back in charge of the club.