Aston Villa this week appointed Dean Smith as manager of their club, with the former Brentford man agreeing terms to take over from Steve Bruce.

However, things could have been different for the Villans, as they initially eyed a move for former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, who has now taken on the managerial hotseat at former club Monaco.

And now, in quotes published by the Birmingham Mail, Henry has explained his thought process behind taking the number one job with the French giants.

“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," said Henry.

"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.”

It would appear that Henry has no personal grudge against Villa and that his reasoning for not taking the job was for an adequate explanation, given his affiliation with his former club over in France.

Henry began his career with Monaco before moving to Juventus in the early 2000's. From there, he moved to Arsenal and then Barcelona, where he cemented his legacy as one of the finest strikers to ever play the game.

He leaves a role with Belgium as one of the coaching team to take up his new role, and Aston Villa fans will no doubt be happy they went with Smith in the end if Henry's heart wasn't fully in the job in the first place.

Villa fans, what do you make of these comments? Happy to have Smith over Henry? Let us know in the comments!