15
Henry in a game against Charlton Athletic in 2006
Having being subjected to racism in the past, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football. The most prominent incident of racism against Henry was during a training session with the Spanish national team in 2004, when a Spanish TV crew caught coach Luis Aragonés referring to Henry as "black shit". The incident caused an uproar in the British media, and there were calls for Aragonés to be sacked. Henry and Nike started the Stand Up Speak Up campaign against racism in football as a result of the incident. Subsequently, in 2007, Time featured him as one of the "Heroes & Pioneers" on "The Time 100" list.
Other work
Along with 45 other football players, Henry took part in FIFA's "Live for Love United" in 2002. The single was released in tandem with the 2002 World Cup and its proceeds went towards AIDS research. Henry also supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
Endorsements
In 2006, Henry was valued as the ninth most commercially marketable footballer in the world, as well as being the eighth richest Premier League player, with £21 million.
Henry featured in the Renault Clio advertisements in which he popularised the term va-va-voom, meaning "life" or "passion". His romantic interest in the commercial was his then-wife, Claire "Nicole" Merry. "Va-va-voom" was subsequently added to the Concise Oxford English
Dictionary.
In 2004, Henry signed with sportswear giant Nike. In one of the advertisements, Henry pits his wits against football stars such as Claude Makélélé, Edgar Davids and Freddie Ljungberg in locations such as his bedroom and living room. The advertisement was partly inspired by Henry himself, who revealed that he always has a football nearby, even at home. Henry was also featured in Nike's "Secret Tournament" advertisement along with 24 superstar football players including Ljungberg, Ronaldinho, and Francesco Totti. In tandem with the 2006 World Cup, Henry also featured in Nike's Joga Bonito campaign, Portuguese for "play beautifully".
Henry's deal with Nike ended after the 2006 World Cup, when he signed a deal with Reebok to appear in their "I Am What I Am" campaign. As part of Reebok