Thierry Henry had no remorse as he responded to critics of his Ballon d’Or hosting performance after he received backlash for awkwardly joking with Lamine Yamal, and appearing to correct his co-presenter Kate Scott.
The Arsenal legend shared the stage with his fellow CBS Sports broadcaster on Monday evening and caught heat for questioning whether Yamal’s award for Young Talent of the Year – the Kopa Trophy – was the one he really wanted.
Yamal, then considered a favourite for the Ballon d’Or, was politely bashful, brushing off the joke and suggesting that his Spain and Barcelona team-mate Pau Cubarsi would have been a more worthy winner.
Henry’s performance came under further scrutiny when he informed Scott of the correct pronunciation of Brazilian icon Socrates – after she had announced the name in the style of the Greek philosopher.
But after a day of online criticism, Henry took to social media to give his side of the story and lambast those who didn’t find his ‘jokes’ funny and who were ‘getting really excited about nothing’.
‘First and foremost, Lamine Yamal, I wasn’t checking his ego at all, I just thought as the third time he’s winning that trophy, I asked him if that was the one he really wanted, and I brought out a laugh from people,’ Henry explained. ‘We all know what he wanted, he didn’t get it.
Thierry Henry recorded a video for fans on social media who criticised his Ballon d’Or hosting
The Arsenal legend had appeared to correct his co-host and fellow CBS Sports star Kate Scott
Henry had also asked Lamine Yamal if he had won the trophy he really wanted when he was awarded the Kopa Trophy
‘I’m a big fan of Lamine Yamal, I wasn’t checking his ego at all. That you didn’t like the joke, I can understand. But don’t do that, he’s one of the players I’d pay to watch, I love him.
‘I was just asking him, if it’s the one he really wants as the real prize was coming after. Unfortunately he didn’t win it, because he’s a hell of a player I’d pay to watch.
‘Now let’s move on to Kate, she was with me on the joke, and you can ask Kate, by the way. She did it on purpose, to say Socrates, and I had to say, Socrates.
Again, that you didn’t like the joke, I understand, but please stop saying I disrespected Kate, I will never do that, and you can ask her people, she was in on the joke with me, she did Socrates on purpose, and I said Socrates, so please stop inventing stories.’
Finally, Henry confronted his comments made to Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane after his acceptance speech, when he told the England captain that he was ‘always going to back up’ his rival for the top prize Kylian Mbappe.
The former World Cup winner explained that during a recent interview on CBS, Kane had teased him for supporting Mbappe for the Ballon d’Or, and that Henry was merely giving his remarks context.
‘I just told him the other day, I’m French, and I was always going to back up and support my fellow countrymen,’ Henry continued. ‘I said to him, “you are a worthy winner, you deserve it, you are the example that work ethic is a talent, working hard is a talent”.
‘I said “you are a worthy winner, well done, Harry Kane”, and I call him Sir Harry Kane since the World Cup.
‘So please, people out there, relax, relax, I love Harry Kane, I love Lamine Yamal, and I didn’t disrespect Kate, she was on the joke with me, once again, have a good night.’
Kane at the time listened to Henry’s remarks thoughtfully and accepted the compliment with thanks to widespread applause.
As he was asked a question directly, Yamal was unable to demur, and grinned as the audience laughed at Henry’s implication that he was focused on a greater award.
After he had collected himself, the Barcelona teenager dodged the question in his native Spanish.
On the night, his comments to Scott were less well received as the joke failed to land.
In the wake of Scott’s pronunciation of the award, which was given to Arsenal star Bukayo Saka, Henry had quipped: ‘What do you mean Socrates?’
‘We don’t have any philosophers here. It’s (correct pronunciation) Socrates. We’re not going to debate it.’
Henry’s comments were not the only incidents at Monday night’s ceremony labelled by fans online as disrespectful, with the behaviour of Mbappe, Yamal and last year’s winner Ousmane Dembele also coming in for heavy criticism.
A video captured moments after Kane was named the best footballer in the world show both French players failing to stand up to shake his hand.
