Thierry Henry has linked back up with his former Arsenal teammate Cesc Fabregas after becoming the latest investor in Italian Serie B outfit Como.
The duo previously played together in north London between 2003 to 2007, when Henry left the club to join Barcelona, where Fabregas came through the youth system before rejoining in 2011. And they will now be adding Como to their list of shared allegiances, with Fabregas signing for the club as well as becoming an investor this summer.
Henry has claimed that Como's commitment to the local community attracted him to the team. There are plans for all of the club's suppliers to be local firms within the next couple of years, and major investment is promised to upgrade facilities.
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Revenues from shirt sales this season will also be put back into the local community to help combat unemployment and health issues. The Indonesian Djarum Group owns Como having bought the club four years ago at auction when the previous owners filed for bankruptcy.
They have since climbed two divisions, with former Chelsea midfielder Dennis Wise brought in as chief executive, and now have designs on reaching Serie A by 2025. “It’s my great pleasure to announce that I will be joining Como 1907 as a shareholder,” Henry said. “I have been waiting to get involved in a project like Como for a long time. A club with ambition but most importantly one that holds the same values as me - that the club and its local community both need to thrive.
“For me, a football club is nothing without its local community. Yet so many times you see commercial objectives overtake and break that special connection and the heart of the club is lost. When I spoke to the team here and they told me about the community initiatives already in place and the ambition to ensure that as the club prospers so does the community, I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me.”
Wise added of Henry’s arrival: “After explaining our vision of where we want to be as a club being part of the community and our ambition to get to Serie A, Thierry has decided to join our journey. We look forward to seeing him in Como.”
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