2010 FIFA World Cup: France's Thierry Henry to Join MLS After World Cup

After months of speculation, it finally has become official that French striker Thierry Henry will join Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls for the second half of the season after playing for France in next month's World Cup.

Rumors started to break on Henry joining the Red Bulls back in September, and only escalated from there as Henry continued to get less time for FC Barcelona as Barcelona moved towards another La Liga title.

But now, it has become official as Henry is due to officially become a Red Bull within the next several days.

Overall, Henry has scored the most goals in the history of the French National Team with 51, and already has participated in three World Cup's before the one next month.

In his first World Cup in 1998, Henry was the leading scorer on a French side that went on to win the World Cup.

And in 2006, Henry's France went all the way to the final, where they lost to Italy.

But overall, Henry will be most remembered internationally for his handball that sent France to the 2010 FIFA World Cup back in November of 2009 at the expense of Ireland.

And as a club player, Henry is considered to be the best player in the history of English Premier League side Arsenal FC, with whom Henry played for from 1999 through 2007.

With Henry now joining the Red Bulls, Henry will join the fabled New York sports scene that currently contains the likes of Derek Jeter, David Wright, Eli Manning, and Alex Rodriguez, among others.

But with his bad season with Barcelona, Henry should have no problems finding motivation to play hard in MLS, and his open playing style and great goalscoring touch could be tremendous hits for American soccer fans.

Along with that, Henry will also become the best striker New York City has seen since Brazilian legend Pele played for the New York Cosmos from 1975-1977.

Will Henry become the next Pele for American soccer? Who knows, but he will be the next big name European player to join Major League Soccer since David Beckham joined the Los Angeles Galaxy back in 2007.