Sports
Henry defends Ballon d'Or hosting after criticism over Yamal and Scott exchanges
October 28, 2026 at 01:59 PM
Coverage
2 reports · 1 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 3 hours
Thierry Henry has defended his presentation of Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony after criticism over his exchanges with Lamine Yamal and co-host Kate Scott.
- Henry said in a video Wednesday that he is "a big fan" of Yamal, one of the players he would pay to watch.
- He denied disrespecting Scott over her pronunciation of Socrates' name, saying she was "on the joke with me" and urged people to stop inventing stories.
- Henry acknowledged wanting fellow Frenchman Kylian Mbappe to win, while calling Kane a "worthy winner" and telling critics to "relax."
- Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka won the Socrates Award for his humanitarian and charity work at the ceremony.