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Henry kicks off the transfer rush

  • Story Highlights
  • Thierry Henry's Barcelona move right for a player who wants to win trophies
  • Arsenal going through rebuilding phase in which will hard to challenge for honors
  • Deal could pave way for Ronaldinho to leave Barcelona for AC Milan
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By CNN's Pedro Pinto
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(CNN) -- World Sport reporter Pedro Pinto looks at the implications of Thierry Henry's move to Barcelona.

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Thierry Henry's move to Barcelona could be the catalyst to a wild summer of spending by Europe's top clubs. I expect a lot of famous faces to be in different places when the new season starts in August.

First of all, I believe Titi did the right thing to move to Spain. He is 29 years old, has won practically everything there is to win in England and felt this was his last chance to play in one of the best leagues in the world. At this point of his career, the French international wants to win trophies and he wouldn't have been able to achieve that at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal is going through a rebuilding phase at the moment and to be honest, the chances of the gunners capturing the Premier League title in the next three years are slim at best. With Chelsea and Manchester United flexing their muscles, it will be difficult for anyone else to compete for top honors in England.

So what will Henry's move mean for the summer transfer window? I'll tell you what my hunch is.

1. Barcelona now have too many forwards. Considering the rift between Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho, I see one of these two players moving on. Don't be surprised if the Brazilian star heads to Milan who have been courting him for well over six months. This means Barca would keep Leo Messi, Eto'o and Henry as their top three strikers. Not too shabby...

2. If Ronaldinho moves to Milan, Kaka will head to Real Madrid. The Spanish giants have indicated they are willing to spend a world record 80 million euros ($107 million) on the creative midfielder. The Brazilian has told his friends that he would welcome a new challenge, and Madrid would definitely present him with that.

3. If Real don't get their way with Kaka, they will invest that money in a variety of players. On their priority list is Sevilla defender Daniel Alves, Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Chelsea winger Arjen Robben. Whichever way the cookie crumbles, I expect a lot of action in the transfer market in the next three weeks.

So while Thierry is posing with his new shirt, a lot could happen behind the scenes. Watch this space... E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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