Thierry Henry published a video recording addressing his criticized hosting duties during the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday. The former Arsenal player served as a presenter alongside his CBS colleague Kate Scott as Harry Kane became the first Englishman to win the award in 25 years. However, viewers expressed confusion over several on-stage moments, claiming he showed a lack of respect toward players and his co-host.
The initial issue arose when he spoke to Lamine Yamal after the teenager secured his third consecutive Young Talent of the Year honor. The former Barcelona star joked about the hat-trick before asking, "But is it the one that you really wanted tonight?"
Henry addressed this in an Instagram video, stating: "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 added: "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."
He continued: "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."
A second moment involved Henry correcting Scott regarding her pronunciation of the Socrates Award, which honors players performing charitable work off the pitch and went to Arsenal's Bukayo Saka.
Henry explained: "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 responded in the comments section of the post by writing: "... no disrespect to speak of."
Finally, viewers criticized Henry for telling main winner Kane that he had hoped Kylian Mbappe would claim the prize. Henry maintained that he holds great respect for Kane despite supporting his fellow Frenchman.
He stated: "And the last one, if you didn't watch our show on CBS, Harry Kane the other day after Bayern Munich vs Arsenal called me out for supporting Kylian Mbappe. So I just told him the other day, although I'm French and I was always going to back up and support my fellow countryman, I just said to him you are a worthy winner, you deserve it."
He concluded: "You are the example of what I always say - that work ethic is a talent, working out 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, love Lamine Yamal, and I didn't disrespect Kate. Once again, have a good night, see you soon."
