Thierry Henry Slammed For ‘Pathetic’ Comment to Lamine Yamal at Ballon d’Or Ceremony

Thierry Henry is being slammed for a comment he made to Lamine Yamal during Monday evening’s 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony in London.

Yamal had hopes of becoming the youngest ever Ballon d’Or winner after a sensational season with Barcelona and Spain. The 19-year-old scored 25 goals and recorded 20 assists in 57 matches across all competitions. He helped his club side to La Liga and Spanish Super Cup glory, while he guided his national side to World Cup glory in the summer.

However, despite achieving so much, he only finished third in the final 2026 Ballon d’Or standings, missing out on football’s most prestigious individual prize to Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane. Kylian Mbappe finished in a close second to Kane.

While Yamal would no doubt have been disappointed to miss out on the Ballon d’Or, he didn’t go home empty-handed, as he was named the 2026 Kopa Trophy winner, given to the best young player in the world. It is the third time in a row he has won the award.

Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs

Henry presented the prestigious awards night alongside Kate Abdo. The Frenchman decided to joke with Yamal after he was named the Kopa Trophy winner for a third consecutive year. He asked:

Many in the audience saw the funny side, as did Yamal, who couldn’t help but laugh before offering a blunt, one-word response: “No.”

Some viewers at home found the moment amusing, but many others did not, and have slammed the former Arsenal star.

One said: “Thierry Henry might have just talked himself out of ever getting another presenting gig. Asking Yamal that question was completely out of line. Shameful, disrespectful, and totally unnecessary.”

“”Nah that is a bit poor,” another commented, while a third wrote: “That’s poor from Thierry Henry. Nice of Lamine Yamal to stay calm. I see he’s trying to entice him to get better but still TH should’ve done better.”

A fourth stated: “This was unnecessary and in bad taste,” while a fifth said: “Yamal is 19, finishing second last year and 3rd this year and Henry just had to bully him in front of everyone. What a classless, disguising, egotistical human being. Shout out to Yamal for smiling and staying strong.”

Yamal Thinks Pau Cubarsi Deserved Kopa Trophy

REUTERS/Nacho Doce

Yamal said it was an ‘honour’ to receive the Kopa Trophy again, but said that his Barcelona and Spain teammate, Pau Cubarsi, should have been given it instead.

“It’s an honour to be here and receive this prize,” Yamal said. “I would have liked Cubarsi my team-mate to be here, because I think this prize should have been for him. He deserved it.

“He’s been playing at an excellent level for some time, and I wish he had won this tonight. This is my third year up here for this prize, and I’m very grateful for this.

“I would like to thank my club and my national team, and I’ll continue working to win these collective and individual prizes.”

After a stunning start to the 2026/27 campaign, Yamal has established himself as the early frontrunner to win the Ballon d’Or next year.