Thierry Henry is trending after the former Arsenal and France star defended the way he hosted Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London.

Henry, who presented the show with CBS Sports colleague Kate Scott, drew criticism for a question to Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, who had just won the young player award for the third straight year. "It's your third one, right? But is it the one you really wanted to win?" Henry asked, as the room reacted.

He also corrected Scott's pronunciation of Brazil great Socrates and admitted he had wanted fellow Frenchman Kylian Mbappe to beat Harry Kane for the top prize.

Henry's response

In a social media video on Wednesday, Henry said people "got really excited about nothing." He said, "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. But don't do that, he's one of the players I'd pay to watch, I love him."

He also asked fans to stop saying he disrespected Scott. "I will never do that and you can ask her," Henry said, adding that she was in on the joke.

The bigger picture

Kane won the Ballon d'Or on Monday night. Henry, 49, finished runner-up for the award himself in 2003.