Thierry Henry has responded to the criticism that snowballed on social media, insisting the incidents at the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony were a storm whipped up out of nothing. The 49-year-old host explained that his exchange with Lamine Yamal was simply a joke. After the Barcelona forward collected his third Kopa Trophy, the award for the world's best young player, Henry had asked him: "It's your third one, right? But is it the one you really wanted to win?" "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," Henry said.
"You didn't like the joke, I understand, but please stop saying I disrespected Kate... She was on the joke with me. She did Soc on purpose, and I said Soc, so please stop inventing stories," Henry said of the moment with co-host Kate Scott during the presentation of the Socrates Award. The Frenchman also recalled what he told this year's winner, Harry Kane: "You are a worthy winner, you deserve it, you are the example that work ethic is a talent, working hard is a talent."
