Thierry Henry has addressed the controversy surrounding his performance as co-host of the Ballon d'Or awards, responding to criticism over his remarks towards fellow presenter Kate Scott and Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal.
Harry Kane became the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or in 25 years as Henry and Scott presented the ceremony at the Palladium Theatre in London. Early in the two-hour show, Henry set an awkward tone when he teased Yamal about not yet winning the Ballon d'Or and later pulled up Scott on her pronunciation of Brazil legend Socrates.
Henry's clarification on Yamal joke
Yamal was put in an awkward position on stage when he collected the Young Talent of the Year award for the third consecutive year. As the 19-year-old stood on stage, Henry referenced his ambition to win the main trophy, saying: 'It's your third one right? But is it the one you really wanted to win?'
In a post on Instagram, Henry sought to clarify his comments. 'I've seen a lot of people talking about the Ballon d'Or night, so I want to clarify some stuff for some people that got really excited for actually nothing,' he said.
'First and foremost with Lamine Yamal I wasn't checking his ego at all, I just thought that as the third time that he is winning the trophy I'd ask him if that's the one that he really wanted. And I brought out a laugh out of people – we all know what he wanted, unfortunately he didn't get it.'
'I'm a big fan of Lamine Yamal I was not checking his ego at all. That you didn't like the joke I can understand but please don't do that. He's actually one of the players that I would pay to watch, I love him, so I was just asking if it is the one he really wants because I knew that the winner prize was coming after and unfortunately he didn't win it, because he is a hell of a player who I enjoy to watch.'
Exchange with Kate Scott over Socrates
Henry was also involved in another awkward moment when he attempted to correct Scott on her pronunciation of Socrates, whose name is used for the award recognising the best humanitarian work by a footballer. Scottish author Andrew Downie, a Brazilian football expert who wrote the book 'Doctor Socrates: Footballer, Philosopher, Legend', criticised Henry for the interaction.
'Thierry Henry is rude and incorrect. She pronounced it properly. I know, I wrote a whole book about the man,' Downie wrote on X.
Henry addressed that incident in his video as well, saying: 'Now let's move on to Kate. Kate was with me on that joke and you can ask her by the way, she did it on purpose to say 'Socrat-ees', and I had to say 'Socrates'. Again that you didn't like the joke I understand, but please stop saying I disrespected Kate, I would never do that, and you can ask her people. She was on the joke with me, she did 'Socrat-ees' on purpose and I said 'Socrates', so please stop inventing stories.'
Scott also commented on Henry's post, writing: '…no disrespect to speak of.'
