BARCELONA have raised the stakes in the battle for Thierry Henry by claiming to have secured the services of the Arsenal striker. Sources close to Joan Laporta, the Barcelona president, have told Spanish journalists that the club have reached a verbal agreement with the Frenchman to join them in the summer. It has even been suggested that Henry will be presented at the Nou Camp before the World Cup.

Arsenal are furious at the claims, although they have resisted the temptation to condemn Barcelona publicly for fear of disturbing Henry’s delicate contract talks. The 28-year-old has been offered a four-year deal worth £100,000 a week, but despite repeatedly insisting that he wants to stay, he has yet to sign it.

Arsenal believe that Barcelona are talking up their hopes of capturing Henry in an attempt to unsettle him. It is not the first time that they have used such tactics. Laporta told supporters in December that he would do everything in his power to sign Henry, but he has a habit of making grand promises that do not materialise, winning the club’s presidential elections in 2003 on the back of a supposed agreement with Manchester United to sign David Beckham when it was clear that the England captain wanted to join Real Madrid.

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has threatened before to report Barcelona to Fifa, world football’s governing body, for “tapping up” Henry and his anger has not diminished. Any verbal agreement between Barcelona and Henry without the consent of Arsenal would constitute an illegal approach, although Wenger is again expected to stop short of making a formal complaint.

“I am not happy with Barcelona,” he said in December. “They have broken a code of behaviour and I feel it is not very respectful towards us. I am worried about it. If they want to sign him, all they have to do is call me up because he has one year left on his contract. I don’t care who you are in football, if you are from Barcelona or Doncaster, you have to respect the rules.”

Of further disquiet is Barcelona’s claim that Henry will cost them relatively little. The Spaniards believe that, as a result of Fifa regulations that enable players over the age of 28, who have been at a club for more than three years, to buy themselves out of the final year of their contract, the maximum compensation they will be obliged to pay is £10 million — and that he could come even cheaper.

Arsenal’s interpretation of the regulations is that they would hope to raise closer to £20 million if they are forced to sell their captain this summer.

Sources close to Henry insist that he has not agreed anything with anyone, although the longer he goes without signing his new contract, the greater the likelihood that he will leave North London.

Henry declared his desire to end his career at Arsenal at the start of the year, although he included the caveat that they must prove that they shared his ambitions. With the club able to meet his financial demands, Henry’s concerns are of a footballing nature and it is understood that he is waiting to see if Arsenal qualify for next season’s Champions League before making his decision. They are through to the quarter-finals of this season’s competition but only fifth in the Barclays Premiership.

Although Wenger hopes to convince Henry to stay, he has begun the search for potential replacements, with Fernando Torres the most likely candidate. Atlético Madrid quoted Tottenham Hotspur £20 million for the Spain striker during the January transfer window and although Arsenal would also balk at such a fee, they are in a position to outbid their neighbours.

Arsenal also plan to open contract talks with Ashley Cole in the next few weeks, although it is unlikely that he will extend his stay. The England defender has two years left on his contract but wants to leave after falling out with them over the Chelsea “tapping-up” affair, with Real favourites to sign him in the summer.

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