Barcelona coach Guardiola denies any Henry rift

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola insists there's no rift with striker Thierry Henry.

The former Arsenal star has found himself on the bench in most of Barca's recent matches and came in for further criticism in Catalonia this week after allegedly saying in an interview that he was "saving myself for the World Cup".

But Guardiola dismissed those quotes as inaccurate.

"I listened to the question and the answer in French, and it's not what he said," he said. "No player is going to say 'I'm going to scratch my belly' in order to go to a World Cup."

"That's the price he has to pay for having won everything."

The Barca coach also dismissed talk of a supposed rift between the two.

"Why does there have to be a bad relationship? If he is not playing, perhaps it is because others are more in-form or inspired," he said.

Guardiola also challenged Henry to reproduce his brilliant form from last season.

"I want him to rebel and help us, because the 26 goals form part of the past - we need him to have that ambition that made him one of European football's greats in the last few years," he said.

"I want more from him and he knows that, but in the end it depends on him."