Headline: Thierry Henry Addresses Criticism After Ballon d’Or Ceremony
Former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry has responded to criticism regarding his hosting of Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony. The Frenchman faced backlash for comments directed at Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, overall winner Harry Kane, and co-host Kate Scott. In a bid to clarify his remarks, Henry took to social media, stating that he felt “people [were] getting really excited about nothing.”
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During the ceremony, which he co-hosted with CBS Sports colleague Scott, Henry made lighthearted jokes about Yamal winning a third Young Player of the Year award, corrected Scott on the pronunciation of Brazil legend Socrates, and expressed a personal wish for fellow Frenchman Kylian Mbappe to take home the top award instead of Kane.
Henry commented on the reaction to his remarks about Yamal, which drew a noticeable response from the audience. He asserted that he was not trying to “check [Yamal’s] ego” and made it clear that he has great admiration for the young player. On the comment regarding Yamal’s award, he said, “It’s your third one, right? But is it the one you really wanted to win?”
In a statement on Wednesday, he emphasized his respect for Yamal, saying, “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.”
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Regarding his interaction with Scott, Henry addressed the backlash over his response to her pronunciation of ‘Socrates.’ He claimed that Scott was aware of the joke, saying, “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, she was on the joke with me. She did Soc on purpose, and I said Soc, so please stop inventing stories.”
Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka received the Socrates Award for his humanitarian efforts.
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On the topic of the Ballon d’Or winner, Henry praised Kane as a “worthy winner,” while encouraging everyone to “relax” following his support for Mbappe’s candidacy. “I’m French and I was always going to back up and support my fellow countryman,” he remarked. He continued, “I said to [Kane], ‘You are a worthy winner, you deserve it, you are the example that work ethic is a talent, working hard is a talent.’ 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.”
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