Thierry Henry has responded to criticism over his hosting of the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday, addressing remarks he made toward Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, winner Harry Kane, and co-host Kate Scott.
During the ceremony, Henry joked with Yamal about his third consecutive young player award, corrected Scott's pronunciation of Brazilian legend Socrates, and admitted he had hoped fellow Frenchman Kylian Mbappé would win the top prize.
In a social media video posted on Wednesday, Henry said he is a big fan of Yamal and was not "checking his ego." He added that Scott was in on the joke about the pronunciation, and called Kane a "worthy winner" who deserves the award. Henry, who is French, said he naturally supported Mbappé but congratulated Kane, referring to him as "Sir Harry Kane." He urged people to "relax" and said he loves both Yamal and Kane and did not disrespect Scott.
