Thierry Henrys wife vows to take him to the cleaners

The wife of French football captain Thierry Henry has vowed to take him to the cleaners in a bitter divorce battle.

London, Aug.4 : The wife of French football captain Thierry Henry has vowed to "take him to the cleaners" in a bitter divorce battle.

Claire, 27, is demanding a massive 10 million pounds from the ex-Arsenal star, who left her in June.

The stunning model has hired Fiona Shackleton, one of Britain's top divorce lawyers, to act for her against the French international, now playing for Barcelona.

Henry has a 25 million pound fortune and is getting 130,000 pounds a week from Barca.

According to The Sun, Shackleton, of law firm Payne Hicks Beach, is also representing Sir Paul McCartney in his bitter split with Heather Mills. And she represented Prince Charles in his divorce from Princess Diana.

Henry, 29, is being represented by Mishcon de Reya - ironically the legal firm Heather and Diana hired.

The stage is now set for a bloody divorce struggle.

English Claire, who has a two-year-old daughter Tea by Henry, was devastated when he quit on their four-year marriage.

She was dealt a further hammer blow earlier this week when she read in The Sun about her estranged husband's close friendship with a Spanish actress.

Henry met brunette Paz Vega, 31, while they were shooting a Reebok commercial together.

The pair posed for photos, stayed at the same hotel and visited an exclusive restaurant.

A well-placed source revealed: "Claire doesn't really know what's going on in Thierry's head and it is hurtful to hear about him spending time with glamorous women. She still has no clue what went wrong with the marriage - she was stunned when he ended it."

Friends of the couple say he had been acting strangely towards the end of his injury-frustrated final season at Arsenal.

"Thierry would come home and just go straight to a room upstairs and lock the door. He'd be in there for four or five hours by himself, leaving Claire wondering what was going on. He started to shut her out. She was concerned about his behaviour - but it still came as a bolt out the blue when he walked out on her," one of their friends said.

The split came after Thierry and Claire rowed over text messages and pictures she found on his mobile phone.

Henry went to the wedding of Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria and basketball star Tony Parker in Paris - alone and without his wedding ring.

Shortly afterwards he announced his marriage was over.

A source close to Claire said last night: "The hurt has now turned to anger and she wants to show Thierry that he can't just walk out on her and Tea without facing the consequences.

Claire, who still lives in the marital home in Hampstead, North London, spent yesterday afternoon enjoying the sunshine in nearby Primrose Hill.

She laughed as she got a parking ticket while treating Tea to an ice-cream. Looking stunning in a yellow summer dress and flip flops, Claire appeared relaxed as she ate an ice and chatted with two female friends.

Thierry began dating her shortly before they starred together in the Va Va Voom Renault ads.

She was then known under her model name Nicole Merry.

The couple were wed in July 2003 in a 40,000 pound bash at Highclere Castle, Berkshire.

ANI