On August 20, 2024, Henri decided to relinquish his position as head coach of the French Olympic team after winning the glory of winning the men's soccer silver medal for his team at the Paris Olympics. French media outlet L'Equipe revealed the inside story of Henry's departure.
Early Monday morning, Henry delivered the news to his team, followed by an in-depth conversation with French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo. In the end, Diallo agreed to Henry's request to resign at his request, albeit a year ahead of his scheduled term. When the team newspaper tried to get more details of the resignation, Henry appeared quite cautious and was reluctant to reveal too much.
Although two weeks have passed since the Olympics, Henri is still reeling from his final defeat. Like Reynal, who left the French women's soccer team, Henry could have faced accusations of using his Olympic experience to boost his CV, yet the French Football Association has not made this a point of publicity. After news of Henry's resignation broke, players on the French Olympic team expressed their gratitude to him via text message.
Henry had a deep affection for his work, his players and his staff, but his enthusiasm faded under the pressure of the Olympics. He felt physically and mentally exhausted and eventually convinced himself not to move on. The dilemma he faced alone - not being able to persuade clubs to let their preferred players play in the Olympics - was a crushing blow to an already accomplished soccer legend.
