Henry, who is currently managing MLS club Montreal, takes inspiration from all his former bosses, including Guardiola, under whom he played at Spanish giants Barcelona.

 

Guardiola won the treble with Barcelona in the 2008/09 season, leading his club to La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, but the Spaniard does not equate success with the number of trophies he has won, according to Henry.

 

 

The Frenchman revealed Guardiola told him that his biggest success was making the players under his tutelage better by educating them rather than leading his club to trophies.

 

And Henry added that Guardiola’s ideology resonates with him and he also feels a manager’s merit is determined by whether he is able to make a player better.

 

 

“In Monaco, one day, I was asked a question: what is success?”, Henry told French magazine So Foot.

 

“For me, it all depends on the club and what you’re trying to accomplish there.

 

 

“Southampton, are they a successful club?

 

“I think yes, when you see the number of players who have left the training centre, what the club offers in terms of new players each year.

 

“One day, Pep Guardiola told me that his biggest success, in the first year [at Barcelona], it was not the treble, but to have sent Pedro [Rodriguez] and [Sergio] Busquets to the national team.

 

“That is success, because a coach, above all, is there to educate.

 

“It’s all there: have you made a player better or have you used them to make yourself better?”

 

Guardiola has gone on to take charge of Bayern Munich and Manchester City, following leaving Barcelona in the summer of 2012, and has lifted domestic league titles in both Germany and England.