A crowd of nearly 30,000 came to Barcelona's Nou Camp on Monday to greet Thierry Henry, who completed his $32 million transfer to Barcelona from Arsenal after passing a medical exam.

I'm really pleased to be here. It's been a long chase but I'm finally here," Henry said. "Hopefully, I can be a great asset to the team."

Henry, who agreed to a four-year contract, left Arsenal with a club-record 226 goals in 364 appearances. The 29-year-old Frenchman helped the London team to two Premier League titles and three Football Association Cups.

"I always said that if I ever leave Arsenal, it would be to play for Barcelona. It's no disrespect to anybody. It's my choice," Henry said. "The way Barcelona plays, the fans, just being here and what I'm noticing now, it's outstanding."

Henry was limited to 17 Premier League games last season because of stomach and groin injuries after playing over 30 games a season since joining Arsenal in 1999.

"If you look at my record of injuries, there is only one," Henry said. "Today I passed the medical easy, and nothing was bad anyway. Maybe not having played too much the season before can be good for this season."

He joins a roster that includes two-time FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldinho, Cameroon forward Samuel Eto'o, Argentina winger Lionel Messi as well as playmaking midfielders Deco, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.

"Sometimes you have to sit on the bench, sometimes you play -- that's how you win titles," Henry said. "You have to adapt."

AP