The signs continue to point to Thierry Henry departing the New York Red Bulls at season's end, but the club is maintaining that a decision on his future has not yet been made.
Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke and Henry both refused on Friday to give credence to comments made by Red Bull head of Global Football Gerard Houllier, who said late on Thursday that the 37-year-old striker would not return to the Red Bulls once his contract expired this winter.
Petke, for his part, stated that he had no idea one way or the other as to whether Henry would retire, continue on somewhere else or return to the Red Bulls team he joined in summer 2010.
"I’ve said it all along, my understanding, and it’s a fact that nobody knows what Thierry is going to do," Petke told reporters following the club's morning training session at Red Bull Arena. "Thierry’s going to make that decision and announce that or don’t announce that whenever he feels comfortable with. I have not got that indication one way or the other.
"Thierry’s focusing on every game and he’s been a professional about it, he doesn’t want to get wrapped up in that stuff. Like I said, he will let the world know if he chooses to when he wants to."
Henry has said all season long that he would weigh his decision over the MLS offseason, but this is not the first time Houllier has dropped a hint about the legendary Frenchman's future. Back in July following the Red Bulls' friendly win over Arsenal, Houllier grabbed similar headlines by saying he thought the Henry was leaning towards retirement.
Henry issued a noncommital response that night when asked about Houllier's comments, and did so again on Friday before walking away from the media scrum that was interviewing him.
"If you see him ask him," said the Red Bulls captain. "That’s it. Ask him when you see him."
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While talk of Henry's future could serve as a distraction, Petke and his side are focusing on the task at hand. New York are in the midst of trying to lock down a playoff spot in the tight Eastern Conference, and will host the Houston Dynamo in a match with postseason implications on Saturday (6 pm ET; NBCSN, stream on NBCSports.com).
"Listen, Gerard is in France or Austria right now so I can’t speak for what Gerard said," said Petke. "All I can speak for is what I’m saying and that is I have zero idea and I believe that nobody has an idea. Like I said, I’m the coach of this team, I have people above me that speak with Austria and speak with the global. I don’t, so perhaps there could be conversations, but you’d have to ask somebody else.
"To me, it’s just about what’s on the field and getting ready for the game and focusing on that. And I’ll reiterate again, as far as I know, only Thierry knows what he’s going to do next year and he’ll announce that when he feels comfortable."
