Thierry Henry defends Ballon d'Or hosting after jokes about Yamal and Kate Scott spark backlash

Thierry Henry has moved to clarify his conduct as host of the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London, dismissing social media criticism of his interactions with co-presenter Kate Scott, Lamine Yamal, and eventual men’s winner Harry Kane as a misreading of planned on-stage humour.

The former France and Arsenal striker co-hosted the prestigious awards night alongside his CBS Sports colleague Scott. Three moments in particular drew scrutiny: Henry correcting Scott’s pronunciation of the Sócrates award, questioning Yamal about whether the young player prize was truly the trophy he wanted, and openly admitting he had hoped compatriot Kylian Mbappé would beat Kane to the main men’s award.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of people talking about the Ballon d’Or night and I wanted to clarify some stuff about some people getting really excited about nothing,” Henry said in a response posted after the ceremony.

On the Yamal exchange, Henry was emphatic that no slight was intended. “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,” he said. “He’s one of the players I’d pay to watch. I love him.”

Regarding Scott, Henry insisted the mispronunciation was a deliberate setup between the two presenters. “She was in on the joke, and you can ask Kate — she did it on purpose,” he said. “Please stop saying I disrespected Kate. I will never do that.”

Henry also addressed his candid support for Mbappé over Kane, framing it as a callback to a running joke from their CBS show. “Harry Kane, after Bayern Munich vs Arsenal, called me out for supporting Kylian Mbappé. I’m French, and I was always going to back up my fellow countryman,” he explained. He was nonetheless generous in his verdict on the winner: “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.”

Kane claimed the men’s Ballon d’Or at the London ceremony, with Yamal taking the young player award for the third consecutive year despite also being in contention for the senior prize.