Thierry Henry receives UEFA President’s Award
Former french international Thierry Henry has won the 2026 UEFA President’s Award.
Henry helped redefine what a modern stricker could be: not just a poacher, but a pacey, creative playmaker who could score and create goals almost effortlessly. Arsenal’s greatest goalscorer and the architect of the Invincibles, he won the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona and both a EURO and a World Cup with France, scoring 411 goals for club and country.
Off the pitch, he has become one of the most respected voices in the game. He breaks matches down with a depth and precision that makes him sound less like a former player than a philosopher of the sport, and his honesty resonates with fans, coaches and colleagues past and present alike.
“Pace, grace, skill and ice-cold finishing made Henry a striker for the ages – and a man still writing his story within the sport as a world-class pundit. He has never hesitated to raise his voice on the issues that matter: relentlessly vocal about discrimination, racism and mental health, and just as generous with his time, supporting numerous humanitarian causes both during and after his football career. His passion and the work he did off the pitch showed that the “ice in his veins” was never the whole story – underneath it all there is a warm, deeply caring heart” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin handed the award to Thierry Henry during the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League 36-team league phase draw ceremony in Monaco.
Thierry Henry said: “Thank you to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin for thinking about me for this award, I am very grateful. Receiving this award here in Monaco, where my career began, feels like a truly full-circle moment.”
Since 1998, UEFA’s annual President’s Award has acknowledged outstanding achievements that transcend the sport. At the start of each new European season, the UEFA president recognises professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities, on and off the field.
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