Thierry Henry ditches wife and daughter

THIERRY HENRY has walked out on his wife and two-year-old daughter, the News of the World can reveal.

The superstar footballer left devastated missus Claire after four years of marriage.

It explains why Henry was pictured in Paris last week, alone and not wearing his wedding ring.

The split came after he and 27-year-old Claire rowed over text messages and pictures on his mobile phone.

She and the former Arsenal skipper, who completed a �16million move to Barcelona on June 25, had a furious bust-up which led to Henry leaving.

A friend of the couple said: "Claire is devastated. It was almost as if Thierry wanted it to happen.

"He blatantly left his phone lying around the house and one day Claire picked it up out of curiosity.

"She started flicking through his text messages.

"There were also some pictures on the phone.

PICS: STUNNING IMAGES OF NICOLE

"As soon as Thierry came in Claire spoke to him and they had a full-scale row.

"Thierry told Claire that he was leaving and appeared to have a couldn't-care-less attitude. He just walked out and that was that."

The friend said Henry�who starred with Claire in the famous Va Va Voom Renault car telly ads�marched out of their mansion in posh Hampstead, north London, two weeks ago and has not returned since.

The pal added: "He has not been back to see Claire or their daughter Tea since.

"He did call her three days after leaving and asked her if she was okay. Well how could she be okay? Of course she wasn't. He has not called her or seen her since.

"He has not been acting at all like his saintly image. Claire may have no choice but to consult solicitors about a divorce. She knows Thierry has been going out and that people have noticed he has removed his wedding ring."

Henry, 29, is spending most of his time in Barcelona, where he is earning �128,000 a week.

The friend added: "Claire dared not leave the house for the first two weeks because she was so upset and was hoping that Thierry would come back."

The friend also revealed the state of the marriage was one of the reasons the Arsenal legend decided to leave the club.

The pal explained: "It is definitely part of the reason Thierry is going to Barcelona. It is not all about football.

"The fact his marriage has gone Va Va Boom played a part in his decision to leave London." Friends noticed that Henry no longer seemed happy in his wife's company at the French Open tennis championship last month.

The pair arrived together at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris and, although Claire seemed happy, her husband looked bored and glum.

It was one of the last occasions the couple were seen in public together.

A few days after their split Henry travelled to Paris for the wedding of Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria and multi-millionaire basketball player Tony Parker.

Henry had travelled alone and was not wearing his wedding band for the star-studded bash at the city's ultra-plush Park Hyatt hotel.

The French striker was already secretly dating Claire�then known under her model name Nicole Merry�when he requested she be given the role as his co-star in the Va Va Voom telly ads for the Renault Clio.

The couple soon became inseparable, and married in July 2003 in a �40,000 bash at Highclere Castle, Berks. The bride walked down a 100-metre aisle festooned with white lilies in front of 200 guests.

The break-up of the marriage is the first real low point in what has been an idyllic life since Henry arrived at Arsenal in August 1999.

Henry, who rose from a childhood in a tough Paris suburb to become part of the French World Cup winning squad the previous year, was languishing as an underrated winger at Juventus when Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger bought him.

The star has taken pains to develope an image as a gentleman player who has not used his fame to cash in as a ladies' man.

At the time of his signing he told how he missed his then girlfriend Sabrina, who continued to live in Monaco with the couple's cats. He went on to date pop singer Jae Jefferson before splitting with her in 2000 and enjoyed a brief fling with stunning nightclub hostess Alexandra Slater.

Claire's friend added: "She just cannot believe that Thierry could just throw away four years of marriage like that. Their little girl is only two years old and has no idea what is going on or where her papa is.

"Claire is doing her best to cope but she is really struggling at the moment."

Who cares, hes left Arsenal.

"News of the World"

what a c**t!