Invited to speak about the Ballon d’Or trophy, Thierry Henry denounced a big injustice.
Monday evening at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the name of the big winner of the 2023 Ballon d’Or will be revealed. In the meantime, speculation is rife. If Lionel Messi, crowned world champion with Argentina, comes forward as the overwhelming favorite, Erling Haaland, who achieved a historic hat-trick with Manchester City last season, also has his say.
On the set of CBS Sports, Wednesday evening, Thierry Henry returned to this announced duel between the Argentinian and the Norwegian. But before that, the coach of the France Espoirs team pointed out a terrible past injustice. “Titi” still wonders why no Spanish player – notably Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez – have won the most prestigious individual honor in football.
“ The Spanish dominated world football for six years »
“For my part, one of the things that surprises me the most when you look at the prize list is that no Spaniard has won it. The Spaniards dominated world football for six years and at club level too. They won the Euro (in 2008 and 2012) and the World Cup at the same time (in 2010). What if I talk about Xavi and Iniesta? Are you telling me that these guys, at Barcelona, at one point, didn’t deserve it? I think Andrés almost had it at one point. A guy like Samuel Eto’o? Many players in history have come close, but it’s not for everyone.”confided the former Gunner.
“We can’t deny that Lionel Messi deserves it if he wins it”
And Thierry Henry talks about the race for the 2023 Ballon d’Or: “Many can debate this, but when you win the World Cup the way he did, even as a Frenchman, although I was disappointed with the outcome of the final, he deserves this title. Manchester City players, like Erling Haaland, may ask themselves: Why not me? But we can’t deny that Lionel Messi deserves it if he wins it. »
