Barcelona striker Thierry Henry could easily have been preparing with Espanyol for this weekend's big derby, it has been revealed.

AS says Espanyol had contracts all drawn up to sign Henry as a 19 year-old, which included the signature of Jose Manuel Lara Bosch, who then was club vice-president.

However, at the final minute the deal fell through over finances and less than a year later the Monaco forward was signing with Juventus.

Fernando Molinos, who was then Espanyol sports director, has confirmed that along with Henry, he also went well down the road to landing David Trezeguet and Nicolas Anelka at the time. Molinos even had dinner with a teenaged Anelka, but his brother was asking too much money and the move fell through.