Thierry Henry has been confirmed as the new manager of Ligue 1 club AS Monaco as he ventures in football management at his former club.

Monaco sacked Leonardo Jardim on Thursday and Henry rejected the offer to coach Aston Villa and will now leave his role as Belgium head coach assistant.

Monaco confirmed Henry is the new manager on Twitter on Saturday morning with Monaco posting a photo of him in the early stages of his playing career with the messages ‘#He’sComingHome’ and ‘#ForeverMonaco’.

Jardim had led Monaco to the French title in 2017 but last year’s Ligue 1 runners-up have struggled this season.

They currently sit 18th in the table having picked up only one win in all competitions.

In a club statement, Henry said: ‘In the first place, I thank AS Monaco for giving me the opportunity to coach the team of this club which is so special to me.

‘I am very happy to come back to AS Monaco and extremely determined to meet the challenges ahead. I can not wait to meet the players to start working together.’

Henry also posted a heartfelt message on Instagram.

He added: ‘I was fortunate to receive some very attractive offers over the last few months but Monaco will also be close to my heart.

‘Having started my footballing career with this great club, it seems like fate that I will now begin my managerial career here too.’