With speed comparable to Bolt, Henry says pro athletics never appeal to him

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has claimed he could never have been an Olympic sprinter - because he could not stay in lane.

Henry clocked a remarkable 39.2km per hour - around 24.3mph- in a match in 1998 and that would make him competitive in a 100m race.

But despite expressing a huge love and admiration for athletics and the Olympic Games, the World Cup winner says he could never do anything but play football.

Henry has narrated a two-part documentary, La Vie Sportive, shown Wednesday night on Eurosport to mark One Year to Go until Paris 2024.

Former France star Henry recently joked he would have happily out-sprinted Kyle Walker in his heyday and his speed was comparable with Usain Bolt who clocked an average of 37.5km in one 100m victory but with a top speed of 44.7km/h.

Henry said: “Not to make a joke, but you have to stay in your lane. I could play football, it's different, you know. I had zero technique, I was running out of sheer power.

“Because those guys train, the technique, the way they come out of the starting block, the way they run, they count their steps. I never thought about it.

“People always used to ask me, how quick would you have been on a one-on 100-meter dash? And I was like, I don't know. The most you're running in the game is 40 meters, 50 if you go on the counter. I have too much respect for those guys.

 “All I know is what I've done. I don't know what I would have done if I was going to be a sprinter. I don't even know if I can even say that at the end of the day. I know I played football. But no, I never thought about anything else other than playing football.”

Henry enjoyed football’s greatest triumph in France in the 1998 World Cup and says he dreams it will be a similar story in Paris next year.