Ligue 1: Thierry Henry's relegation-threatened AS Monaco sign Brazilian defender Naldo from Schalke

Monaco: Brazilian defender Naldo has joined Thierry Henry’s Monaco from Schalke 04, the French Ligue 1 club struggling in 19th place announced on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_4433327” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Schalke’s Naldo celebrates with Ralf Fahrmann and teammates at the end of the match. Reuters[/caption] The 36-year-old who has won 4 caps for Brazil heads to the Principality outfit on a contract until June 2020 after 14 seasons in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg and Schalke, where he played 34 times last season. “Welcome to Naldo, a defender with great experience at the highest level and noted for his leadership qualities. We are convinced that his profile will be an important asset in our desire to rapidly strengthen the workforce,” Monaco’s vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said in a statement on their website. The affable defender vowed to give everything he could for his new club. “I thank AS Monaco for their trust. I will do everything to meet the expectations of the club on the field but also outside of it. I want to bring my experience to help AS Monaco,” he said on the club website. Former France and Arsenal star Henry took over as Monaco coach earlier this season, but this is a much-depleted team in comparison to the star-studded outfit that won the French title two years ago. Since the 2017 success the club have sold the likes of World Cup winners Kylian Mbpappe, Benjamin Mendy and Thomas Lemar as well as Fabinho and Bernardo Silva. With three wins and just thirteen points from 18 matches so far for Monaco Naldo is unlikely to be the only close season recruit. Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who played alongside Henry at Arsenal, is thought to be high on the coach’s wish-list. Monaco sit one place from bottom of the table having only recorded three wins in their opening 18 fixtures and were knocked out of their Champions League group losing all but one of their six ties.