Thierry Henry wants Franck Ribery to win the Ballon d’Or

Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry insists that he would like compatriot Franck Ribery to win the Ballon d’Or, having come under fire in his homeland this week for appearing to back one of Ribery’s rival for the prize – Cristiano Ronaldo. However Henry backed Bayern Munich man Ribery for the award, calling the Frenchman a different kind of player to his competitors for the title of the world’s best player.

Ribery faces stiff competition for the award and is competing with Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – a former teammate of Henry’s at Barcelona – but Henry believes that the Frenchman should win.

“Ribery is a great player, a different kind of player,” said Henry.

“Franck is the kind of player you want to play with and obviously I would like him to win.”

Henry was widely reported in his homeland as tipping Ronaldo to win the award, having told Sky that he was at a “crazy” level, but insisted that he would like his fellow Frenchman Ribery to win it.

“It’s a shame to see that what I have said about the Ballon D’or has not been reported properly in France”, he said, “but it goes without saying how much I would support Franck, my compatriot, to win.”