Former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry delivered a powerful rant about the impact of social media ahead of the Gunners’ Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid.
On Tuesday, Henry was covering the final four clash for CBS Sports alongside the usual panel of Kate Scott, Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher.
As you’d expect, Arsenal’s European tie was the main topic of interest, with the Gunners having gone without a Champions League final since the days of Henry and Arsène Wenger.
However, the Frenchman still found time to deliver a strong message about social media, explaining how he spent last week having to put “stuff down” after being misquoted on something he didn’t say.
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Henry said: “It’s okay to get abused on social media for something maybe that I would have said, but for something that you didn’t say, that has been picked up by some media outlet without checking the facts of what I said on this show.
“And if you want to check the facts of what I said on this show, it’s simple – you go on our Instagram and you can see exactly what I said. Unlike some people who didn’t put my hand here [covers mouth] to try to hide what I said, you can see my face; I have a mic.
“You can go, once again, I repeat, on our site. So that’s lazy journalism – to go off someone writing something on Twitter about something I apparently said on this show, and it’s not the first time. But to get abused on social media because people don’t check what happened is not nice. So I just wanted to put it out there: do your research.
“We are in 2026. If you want to know something, you can go and check on our Instagram what whoever says here. And it’s not the first time – it didn’t happen only to me. It happened to Jamie, it happened to Micah. Please check. It’s easy.”
Carragher then waded in and asked fans to stop abusing him in general.
Social media users were also quick to react to what Henry said, although many were confused as to what the former Arsenal man was referring to.
One said: “This is so true. People see a headline and, without checking, they start quote-retweeting their own BS about it.”
Another added: “I wish Henry would actually say what he is talking specifically about.”
A third claimed: “Thierry’s words couldn’t be more important. When it comes to social media abuse, it breaks my heart. Not only do they target the player, but their families too. They think they can get away with it. Players have feelings, and when they see this, it hurts them. Don’t be that person.”
Topics: Thierry Henry, Arsenal, Champions League, Football
Luke Davies