Back in 2003, Pavel Nedved won the prestigious Ballon d'Or after a pretty fantastic season for Juventus, in which his side won the Serie A, finished runners-up in the Champions League, and he scored 14 goals and chalked up 17 assists.

It was a strong season, but a large population of football fans believed he didn't deserve the award, and that it should have gone to Thierry Henry instead.

It's hard to argue, with the Frenchman being in scintillating form in 2003 for Arsenal and stamping his claim as one of the best footballers in the world at the time. The former forward was breathtaking as he scored 32 goals and created 28 assists for the Gunners and many believe he was robbed of the award.

What hurts most is the fact that Henry never went on to win a single Ballon d'Or in his career, making him one of the greatest players of all time to never do so. We've heard him speak very little about the matter and share his thoughts on whether he was robbed or not. He's remained silent on the situation for the most part. Until Micah Richards decided to bring it up during Champions League coverage on CBS Sports in 2023.

• April 2003 — Henry completed the PFA and FWA Player of the Year double at Arsenal.
• May 2003 — Nedved's Juventus won Serie A but lost the Champions League final to Milan.
• December 2003 — Nedved won the Ballon d'Or, with Henry finishing runner-up.
• December 2003 — Henry also placed second to Zinedine Zidane for FIFA World Player of the Year.
• October 2023 — Micah Richards raised the 2003 snub with Henry on CBS Champions League coverage.

Henry on Ballon d'Or Snub

Richards, Henry and Jamie Carragher have been working with CBS Sports to provide coverage for the Champions League for multiple years, and it's been a resounding success. The trio work wonderfully with presenter Kate Scott and they regularly have fans in stitches with some of the things they come up with on the show.

It would have been easy for Henry to be bitter about losing the Ballon d'Or to Nedved all those years ago. After all, he never had the chance to win it again, but instead, the retired forward's response to Richards' question about the loss was filled with class and showed why he's a true gentleman.

Richards asked Henry about his own experience of losing out when so many thought he deserved to win, and he wanted to know whether the former Arsenal man also believed he had been robbed of the win. The Frenchman's response was quite brilliant:

Thierry Henry's Incredible Career

With or without the Ballon d'Or victory, Henry has undeniably gone down as one of the greatest forwards in the history of football. There have been few players who ever dominated the sport in the manner in which he did, so it's safe to say the loss didn't hurt his career at all.

The Arsenal legend is perhaps the best player to have ever turned out in the Premier League. He's also the seventh-highest-scoring player in the division's history, finding the net 175 times for the Gunners. The one trophy that evaded him in north London was the Champions League, but he'd achieved that dream during his Barcelona days.