Who is the better player: Mbappe or Henry?

Who is the better player?


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ThierryHenry14

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Giroud has more national team goals than Henry. Miroslav Klose is the top scorer in World Cup history.

Just looking at stats out of context is pointless.

Messi vs Ronaldo comparisons for the last 15 years has skewed judging players on nothing but goals and assists.

For example, Mbappe at club level has 15 less combined goals and assists in his career already than Roberto Baggio in 232 less games. You're not going to sit there and pretend Mbappe is better than Baggio.
Come on. Based on stats and number of trophies Mbappe is already better than Maradona.
 

JPRouve

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Giroud has been far more consistent for France than Henry. If we actually contextualize it, Giroud can be considered a better international player than Henry, not only because he has been a key player for a longer period of time but also because he has better stats.
 

ThierryHenry14

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Giroud has been far more consistent for France than Henry. If we actually contextualize it, Giroud can be considered a better international player than Henry, not only because he has been a key player for a longer period of time but also because he has better stats.
Giroud has the best goal record for France and the same number of World Cup as Henry and Zidane, so he is a better player than not only Platini and Henry, but also Zidane.
 

JPRouve

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Giroud has the best goal record for France and the same number of World Cup as Henry and Zidane, so he is a better player than not only Platini and Henry, but also Zidane.
Your snarky response could have made sense if it was just about goal records. But if it was the argument Platini would still be the better one, he has a better goal ratio.
 

maniak

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Francis Jeffers has more goals for England than Kyle Walker, clearly a better international career.
 

kaiser1

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Giroud has the best goal record for France and the same number of World Cup as Henry and Zidane, so he is a better player than not only Platini and Henry, but also Zidane.
Giroud was a top striker, Henry/Mbappe was/is a wing forward, Zidane was a midfielder

So what next? Compare him to Deschamps and Blanc
 

Fortitude

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Your snarky response could have made sense if it was just about goal records. But if it was the argument Platini would still be the better one, he has a better goal ratio.
Has Mbappe v Henry ever been a thing in France?

Actually, did you guys even do Platini vs Zidane, or was that just the rest of the world?
 

giorno

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Has Mbappe v Henry ever been a thing in France?

Actually, did you guys even do Platini vs Zidane, or was that just the rest of the world?
They did Platini vs Zidane. Think they also compared Henry and Mbappé but i'm pretty sure that's done with since December 2022
 

JPRouve

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Has Mbappe v Henry ever been a thing in France?

Actually, did you guys even do Platini vs Zidane, or was that just the rest of the world?
Mbappé vs Henry, not really. But Zidane vs Platini is like Jordan vs Lebron James.
 

Fortitude

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Cheers guys.

@giorno do you guys ever have greatest ever defender debates nationally or media driven, or is it all settled on Baresi? If you do, who are the ones in contention? (I'm hazarding a guess at Baresi, Maldini and Nesta?)
 

JPRouve

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They did Platini vs Zidane. Think they also compared Henry and Mbappé but i'm pretty sure that's done with since December 2022
They have been compared but it never reached a serious level. Platini vs Zidane is serious stuff with war between generations.
 

giorno

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Cheers guys.

@giorno do you guys ever have greatest ever defender debates nationally or media driven, or is it all settled on Baresi? If you do, who are the ones in contention? (I'm hazarding a guess at Baresi, Maldini and Nesta?)
It's Baresi. Or Maldini, depending on the day or the journalist, or the age of the speaker, etc. Third is Scirea. We don't have debates about it, not really.
 

Fortitude

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It's Baresi. Or Maldini, depending on the day or the journalist, or the age of the speaker, etc. Third is Scirea. We don't have debates about it, not really.
OK. Kind of figured it was Baresi just being accepted as the don.
 

DJ Jeff

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Giroud was a top striker, Henry/Mbappe was/is a wing forward, Zidane was a midfielder

So what next? Compare him to Deschamps and Blanc
Henry wasn't a wing forward.. he played there very very briefly with Eto'o and nowhere else was he a wing forward, though he was well capable of being one and probably would have been one in the modern day. I think you're on the right track comparing wingers of today to strikers of yesteryear though, certainly wingers are the main chance getters and scorers of top teams now, not strikers (Haaland the exception, and Lewa if you want to argue Barca have been a top team while he's been there). Henry only had the one season at Barca of note anyway.
 

giorno

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OK. Kind of figured it was Baresi just being accepted as the don.
He is, unless it's Maldini. Or Scirea. Any of them is fine really. Honestly we've had so many it's pointless to try and rank them. But really it's Baresi, unless you think it's Maldini which is fine too. Or Scirea.

That's the discourse in a nutshell btw
 

Fortitude

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He is, unless it's Maldini. Or Scirea. Any of them is fine really. Honestly we've had so many it's pointless to try and rank them. But really it's Baresi, unless you think it's Maldini which is fine too. Or Scirea.

That's the discourse in a nutshell btw
No Nesta in these discussions??
 

giorno

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No Nesta in these discussions??
There have been so many!

We really don't particularly debate this nor is there much interest. In general, the consesus is Baresi, Maldini and Scirea are the top guys - not just the 3 best defenders but also in the running for best italian players ever post-Superga
 

Fortitude

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There have been so many!

We really don't particularly debate this nor is there much interest. In general, the consesus is Baresi, Maldini and Scirea are the top guys - not just the 3 best defenders but also in the running for best italian players ever post-Superga
Stuff like this, and the Platini x Zidane thing is interesting to me because we really don't have the culture of comparison here, and the most you'll get is goalscoring records talked about rather than any 'bestest' debates. Everything is set in reverence, too. So it's not even accepted to contrast, say, Charlton and Rooney except, as I say, their goalscoring feats for club and country.

I have an image that Italy set up to respect and revere the golden age players in the same manner? Like it's blasphemy to compare and contrast with them?
 

badname

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He did… but then again, he wouldn’t if the rules of the award were the same as they were in the 2000’s (Pelé would’ve won it in 1970 instead of South Americans were eligible).

To be fair to Müller, the 1972 award was basically decided on a coin-toss between him (79 points), Beckenbauer (81) & Netzer (79) and he could’ve easily won it, but, in the end, he didn’t.
Maybe not but i always find it funny when someone brings Muller to the conversation, he may fall short compared to other legends like Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo, Messi and so on.. but compared to the level of Henry, he had so much more impact on football at winning trophies and being a crucial player. Even at the individual level, there isn't annything that Henry did that top off Muller.
 

Fobal

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No Nesta in these discussions??
From my experince talking with Tanos, usually he's call the "more elegant" and the greatest "tackler".

PD: they have more issues club related with Del Piero, Totti and Baggio...Alesandro was quite vilified by many ardent anti Juve in general. What I do not know how this translates to the entire country and nowadays that all of them are retired.
 

SoCross

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21 feb 2006. He played phenomenally well.
Crap, 2006? It’s been that long…

But yes. Masterful. What a player he was. I told myself Ruud was better but really, Henry was the superior player.
 

Ish

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Henry, IMO, was the better/more complete player. Also comes across extremely humble/decent when he speaks (not that, that has anything to do with it). Mbappe will probably go down as the more decorated player at the end of his career and probably rated higher/better in the "all time" discussions, compared to Henry though.
 

Ibi Dreams

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Mbappe's career is a bit easy mode isn't it? PSG and Real, two dominant forces in relatively weak leagues

I'd like to see him carry Arsenal to multiple league titles. I mean I wouldn't, but you get the gist
 

JPRouve

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Mbappe's career is a bit easy mode isn't it? PSG and Real, two dominant forces in relatively weak leagues

I'd like to see him carry Arsenal to multiple league titles. I mean I wouldn't, but you get the gist
Henry didn't carry Arsenal to multiple titles, Arsenal had very stacked teams for both titles. Also in that vein wouldn't you consider Mbappé's contribution to Monaco's title and CL campaign in 16/17 the same way you consider Henry's contribution to Arsenal's great seasons?
 

Eddy_JukeZ

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Mbappe's career is a bit easy mode isn't it? PSG and Real, two dominant forces in relatively weak leagues

I'd like to see him carry Arsenal to multiple league titles. I mean I wouldn't, but you get the gist
People should stop using the word carry in football.

There's 11 players on the field. It's not a thing in this sport.
 

JPRouve

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People should stop using the word carry in football.

There's 11 players on the field. It's not a thing in this sport.
Sometimes it happens, Messi did it during his last couple of seasons with Barcelona but that's extremely rare and doesn't apply to Arsenal in the early 2000s.
 

Eddy_JukeZ

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Sometimes it happens, Messi did it during his last couple of seasons with Barcelona but that's extremely rare and doesn't apply to Arsenal in the early 2000s.
Maybe the only applicable example, but Ter Stegen was also incredible(specifically during the 2018-2019 season) and they still had other good performers in the team.
 

Son

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I think it’s close. Henry at Arsenal was incredible at times how well rounded he became. At Barcelona when he was just deployed on the left in Pep’s system though Mbappe would have been more effective I think.

Mbappe has been more effective for France too so I would edge him ahead. It often depends on team setup. If you need someone to give you more quality on the ball and leadership I’d pick Henry.

If you want the run in behind and terrorise defenders with pace it’s Mbappe all day long.
 

JPRouve

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Maybe the only applicable example, but Ter Stegen was also incredible(specifically during the 2018-2019 season) and they still had other good performers in the team.
While Ter Stegen was generally excellent, without Messi playing 1v10 Football during the second halves of what seemed to be every single game, Barcelona doesn't win the title, they don't even qualify for the CL. And the worst part about it is that you knew that it was coming, Barcelona were useless but you knew that Messi would put together 15 to 20 minutes of utter dominance and lead Barcelona to an undeserved win.
 

UnrelatedPsuedo

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Henry wasn't a wing forward.. he played there very very briefly with Eto'o and nowhere else was he a wing forward, though he was well capable of being one and probably would have been one in the modern day. I think you're on the right track comparing wingers of today to strikers of yesteryear though, certainly wingers are the main chance getters and scorers of top teams now, not strikers (Haaland the exception, and Lewa if you want to argue Barca have been a top team while he's been there). Henry only had the one season at Barca of note anyway.
Huh? Henry literally created the role at Arsenal. He was a 9 that operated off the left. That it wasn’t in a clear 4-3-3 and instead part of a 4-4-2 doesn’t invalidate the facts.

The water are muddy because Cole/Pires/Henry were effectively a self governing left hand side and the latter two took up space as they saw fit, with Cole overlapping. But without question it’s more accurate to describe him as a wide forward than a central number 9.
 

giorno

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I have an image that Italy set up to respect and revere the golden age players in the same manner? Like it's blasphemy to compare and contrast with them?
Nah, not really. We don't particularly care and there are no acrimonious rivalries like that - mostly because we're not fans of players as a rule, we're fans of teams. So those comparisons might happen between active players, but those kind of historical ones, not so much. We mostly just don't care. Also no, while we do revere our past greats, we've had enough recent greats - and winning ones at that, world champions - that it's not blasphemy to compare them

Zidane > Platini
AND FIGHT! @JPRouve :D
PD: they have more issues club related with Del Piero, Totti and Baggio...Alesandro was quite vilified by many ardent anti Juve in general. What I do not know how this translates to the entire country and nowadays that all of them are retired.
See above. Baggio vs Del Piero was a thing very briefly, Del Piero vs Totti more so, but again, not something people particuparly cared about. Only Roma and Juventus fans did and neither cared about what the others thought anyways, so. For the neutrals, it's Baggio anyways :D
I'd like to see him carry Arsenal to multiple league titles. I mean I wouldn't, but you get the gist
Hardly carried them given how good those sides were and how well they did in the league. Plus they beat a United side in transition, and even managed to lose the title to them once anyways - if anything that was the season you could say Henry carried them, and they didn't win. Then Roman came along and that was that.
While Ter Stegen was generally excellent, without Messi playing 1v10 Football during the second halves of what seemed to be every single game, Barcelona doesn't win the title, they don't even qualify for the CL. And the worst part about it is that you knew that it was coming, Barcelona were useless but you knew that Messi would put together 15 to 20 minutes of utter dominance and lead Barcelona to an undeserved win.
Funny thing is they were actually still a great team without Messi, but when Messi was on the pitch everybody else just sort of stood around waiting for him to win by himself. The Zlatan effect. Messi being Messi he still won the league twice and nearly got them in a CL final...
I know he didn't, I'm just saying I wouldn't be surprised if it happened
I would have been. Again, something that happened once and by a guy who scored over 90 goals in a calendar year, reaching a level of consistency in goal scoring that's never been seen before or after
 

ThierryHenry14

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Huh? Henry literally created the role at Arsenal. He was a 9 that operated off the left. That it wasn’t in a clear 4-3-3 and instead part of a 4-4-2 doesn’t invalidate the facts.

The water are muddy because Cole/Pires/Henry were effectively a self governing left hand side and the latter two took up space as they saw fit, with Cole overlapping. But without question it’s more accurate to describe him as a wide forward than a central number 9.
Henry played as a center forward in a 442 or 4411 for Arsenal. He likes to drift to the left though, but that was his playing style. There was left winger in the team such as Pires or Reyes.
 

UnrelatedPsuedo

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Henry played as a center forward in a 442 or 4411 for Arsenal. He likes to drift to the left though, but that was his playing style. There was left winger in the team such as Pires or Reyes.
Yes. He did. I said that. But he received the ball in wide areas. You’re trying to transpose 442 onto 433.

This is the only heat map I could find from him. The truth exists somewhere between my standpoint and yours, but it’s undeniable that he played as a left sided forward.



As a comparison, this is Messi, who nobody on earth would describe as anything other than a right sided 10, or right sided forward - depending on what year we’re talking about.


upload images

Don’t get caught up on what things were called at any time across the last 20 years. Henry was very much a left sided player. Despite covering from touchline to touchline. He primarily pulled left, Pires moved central, when he did, Cole overlapped.
 

TenonTen

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Henry was more talented and better to watch. Mbappe is more effective and clutch.


Barring a serious career threatening injury, Mbappe will have the better career and accolades at the end.



Overall, I'd go with Mbappe.
 

Hammondo

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Henry wasn't a wing forward.. he played there very very briefly with Eto'o and nowhere else was he a wing forward, though he was well capable of being one and probably would have been one in the modern day. I think you're on the right track comparing wingers of today to strikers of yesteryear though, certainly wingers are the main chance getters and scorers of top teams now, not strikers (Haaland the exception, and Lewa if you want to argue Barca have been a top team while he's been there). Henry only had the one season at Barca of note anyway.
And kane?