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French soccer legend Thierry Henry has heard the criticism of his Ballon d’Or hosting stint. The Arsenal and Barcelona icon took to social media to address his critics after the event.
Thierry Henry, who co-hosted Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in London with his CBS Sports colleague Kate Scott, posted a video on Instagram Tuesday responding to backlash over two particular awkward moments from the night.
Thierry Henry defended his Ballon d’Or hosting in a video, saying his jokes to Lamine Yamal and Kate Scott were meant in fun and that Scott was in on the Socrates bit
In the first, Barcelona and Spain wunderkind Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy for the third year in a row, leading Henry to ask him whether it was really the award he wanted, with the main prize of the Ballon d’Or still to be announced.
The second moment came during the presentation of the Socrates Award, which saw Henry joke with Scott about how she pronounced the award’s name and corrected her on stage.
According to him, Scott knew about the joke and played along on purpose, and denied disrespecting her.
Why does Thierry Henry have to do this on a big stage lmfao
I feel bad for her 😭😭 https://t.co/Ya9NGxFLYp
— CFC OBEY®️ (@_kobbyphocus) October 26, 2026
What’s particularly interesting about the Ballon d’Or dynamic is that American audiences are used to Henry’s on-air persona due to his role as an analyst for CBS Sports, where he, Scott, Jamie Carragher and Micah Scott earn frequent plaudits for essentially being the Champions League version of Inside the NBA.
The on-air dynamic between Kate Scott, formerly Kate Abdo, and Henry has been a topic of conversation in the soccer world for years, as many fans believe Henry has displayed signs of having feelings for Abdo over the years.
I pulled the same face when I saw my girlfriend for the first time. Henry’s in love with her
— Aaron (LOGIK) (@logikUK) October 22, 2026
The biggest prize on the night, the Ballon d’Or — essentially the MVP of global soccer — went to England and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, marking the first time an Englishman has won the award since Michael Owen in 2001.