Thierry Henry: 'Weah, Ronaldo and Van Basten were my idols' | Rio & Thierry Part 1

Our main man Rio interviews Thierry Henry on the BBC's World Cup set to talk about one of his favourite players of all time and a legend of the sport; George Weah.
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[@fenomeno1134]

Ronaldo Il Fenomeno from 1995-1999 was the most ferocious, dazzling and scintillating player I have seen to this day. Such a shame the knee injuries robbed him of his peak. He was a prodigy who inspired a generation and the world's best defenders were in awe of him.

[@mysteriouspimp]

Yes. Ronaldo was a Monster (in a good way).

[@0123456787175]

The real GOAT. The greatest player of all time without even a doubt. I take pride in discovering him before the world knew him. It was the Semi-Final at Atlanta Olympics 1996- Nigeria VS Brazil. I am Nigerian. Once he touched the ball, my heart would start raising hard. I didn’t know his name then but I named him ‘the evil one’. He was a complete beast on the ball. Thankfully, the Nigerian players noticed too, they broke his leg, he had to be substituted and Nigeria won via one of the greatest come-backs in football history. Nigerian and Arsenal legend Kanu scored the winning goal. That match was the first time a match was won by then newly introduced (now cancelled) sudden death or golden goal. What a time in football!

[@user-sq8zg7ez2l]

O.A O I agree. The greatest player I have ever seen. Just brilliance within him, without knee injuries, nobody would be within reach of him. Top 3 players of all time Ronaldo, cristiano and messi

[@tonron888]

@@0123456787175 i remember the very first time i saw ronaldo . Its was in 94 in a friendly match for brasil i was 9 years old and boi u just knew he was going to be special. At his best , he was the greatest iv seen.

[@tonron888]

Someone needs to do proper documentary on him on netfix, and show these youngsters what they missed. I feel he is forgotten now, he like the forgotton king.

[@downshooter2k8]

legends talking about legends

[@rioferdinandpresents]

New title? :-)

[@WassupFootballFinest]

Ferdinand isn't a legend

[@j-d-r-laird3526]

MackAttack 27 agreed.. alwayd had good players around him and was a mistake every couple of games.. i genuinely believe cahill is strides ahead of rio and all other english CBs

[@WassupFootballFinest]

Yeah I agree and cahill is definitely the best at the moment. John Terry was the best though In his day, what a player. And I don't really like terry as a person but there's no denying it, he was great. Ferdinand was never even the best CB at united (vidic), never mind england, and he'd have to win the league with QPR being top scorer to become a legend.

[@unitedtillidie4680]

MackAttack 27 go home kid

[@Robson1898vascao]

I miss the 90s... There was talent everywhere. Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Romario, Van Basten, Shearer, Weah, Henry, Zidane, Figo, Del Piero, Totti, Maldini, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Seedorf, Berkgamp, Kluivert, Van der Sar, Vieira, etc etc etc

[@rahmamohammednur2243]

Zola,Juninho,asprilla,suker,boksic djalminha okocha hagi Kanu stoitkhov the laudrups, Gascoigne, Di canio, chiesa, morientes,tristan, stam, desailly, lizarazu, trezeguet, papan,ginola and more-that decade was unbelievable,Messi and cristiano have no competition today or any real defenders to come up against.

[@michaeltrumph121]

+Rahma Mohammednur so true

[@Abule1989]

+Rahma Mohammednur football nowadays is a crap. I really missed back days, when there were too many great players.

[@alismgt8194]

Roberto Baggio, Christan Vieri, Gabriel Batistuta, Buffon, Barthez, Dida, Mihajlović, Alvaro Recoba, Rui Costa, Boban, Denilson, Jurgen Klinsmann, Crespo, Veron, Ortega, Javier Zanetti, Nesta, Riquelme, Shevchenko, Filippo Inzaghi, Cannavaro, Pablo Aimar, Ayala, Raul and many more! Had to mention a few after reading all the above, When Football was REALLY exciting to watch!

[@kstar4456]

The defending is nowhere near the level as it used to be which makes ronaldo and messi seem unstoppable its not hard to get passed defenders such as david luiz if R9 was here now he would blow all the players out of the water

[@abotti17]

I liked it when he said the original Ronaldo

[@iqharootunian2099]

Taher ALSubiani nothing but the truth

[@Uqjsz]

Cause u know he is the first ronaldo then after him comes the second ronaldo did u get it

[@DadreamDahreem]

the only ronaldo - the other is christiano not really luis de nazario de lima - christiano should have changed his last name before playing

[@Flinstone_Edible]

@@DadreamDahreem it's cristiano not christiano

[@theinvader8205]

Orginal Ronaldo means the first ronaldo.Thats what he meant

[@vaitalv9361]

You can tell by his gestures when talking about Weah, reminiscing his childhood moments. That's how you idolize a player.

[@R9Rai]

Ronaldo and Henry are hero's!

[@mikailadolfsen2368]

Hello! :)

[@oobeast7669]

i agree !!!! 100% !!!

[@thelastjediknight1]

*heroes

[@axicautobodycare2897]

In Kenya we are known for athletics and there is one community called kalenjin which most world champs come From and we used to call thiery Henry Langat which is common name is kalenjin because thiery was fast and always out run defenders with speed. (Thiery Henry aka Langat)

[@dukukwamena12]

@@mikailadolfsen2368 wee 3e

[@watmahbrown2222]

Thanks Mr. Thierry Henry for acknowledging the greatness of our Liberian soccer legend---"Manneh"

[@INFINITY1664]

“George Weah was not playing with a great national team” good point. This is why he’s one of the greatest

[@luketutolo]

I'm Italian but he deserved the Balloon D'Or when he was at arsenal

[@kelvinogbeide313]

I like what he said about George weah....u have my love henry Pure love for weah.....from a nigerian

[@grinchoi1]

Im with them on this. R9 the original and greatest striker to play the game. He changed the game for everyone. 90% of strikers today believe he is the greatest striker to play the game. From Zlatan, Zidane, Nasri, David Silva, Messi, Benzema, Chicharito...the list goes on n on.

[@ordemeprogresso727]

r9 is one in a life time, Suarez, Zlatan and even cr7 is not on his level and that is by far distance

[@luvomahlasela383]

Thierry Henry's facial expression when Discussing Weah😂... True Fan

[@SanDiegoSrbin1987]

I m Big Juventus Fan, Del Piero is my Idol, but I also loved George Weah, Weah was a mix of Eto'o and Drogba in their prime, think about that, Strength and Raw Speed, Mr George was a special player...

[@willdiaz5373]

I'm big Juventus fan too since 1993 my favorite player is Roberto Baggio but I like Alex piero also

[@skaaya1]

@@willdiaz5373 I used to loooooove Roberto Baggio!! Still in my fave top 3 players ever.

[@ThePacemaker45]

This was amazing. George Weah truly was unbelievable

[@abdourahmanely627]

Technically Ronaldo is the best...👌 a'm africain from SENEGAL 🇸🇳✊

[@bahadorjafari2374]

Weah underrated by a lot of Young fans

[@antcunningham1997]

@@bahadorjafari2374 geroge weah for me is the African Ronaldo el phenomeo he was a phenomenal player. A legend one of the very best 💙💙😁😁

[@bimbum819]

Van Basten best talent ever!

[@fakephoenixprince]

George Weah and Ronaldo are the two most unstoppable strikers ever. Weah was the most overpowered striker that probably played with great technique and an incredible eye for goal. I was talking to italians that watched AC Milan around that era that were able to see many legends, all four of those dudes (old guys) saying that he's the best striker they ever saw.

[@francisdubem5084]

Thierry Henry best player in the world in his prime. Greatest player to ever grace the premier league.

[@MrAstarloco]

This Thierry guy is amazing great footballer and top pundit!

[@mourasantos]

I'd rate Henry up there with any of them, alongside the likes of the players he just mentioned. That's how amazingly good he was.

[@daveneo3580]

Henry was a genius...so much pace ...but the skill and control to score amazing goals...wow..!!

[@jarvisstayne5671]

"People taking pictures of me and i was like Are you mad? George Weah is here" -Thierry Henry

[@benjaminreakiepowell1165]

GEORGE WEAH..GREAT BALLER

[@imtbi]

lol taking advantage of the BBC studio. Cheeky one Rio ;)

[@JordynNexus]

Sounded really British when he was saying "are you mad? Mr George, you don't know!" 😂

[@TreatFX]

This was amazing! So incredibly interesting!

[@rioferdinandpresents]

Thanks TreatFX, we've got loads more new content coming out on the channel so stay tuned! Part 2 is coming tomorrow too...

[@edifysalim5359]

1:32 love it when he said the original ronaldo hahahahaha

[@nigelnyoni8265]

R9 the Fenomenon ❤️ legend, GOAT. Of course Henry looks up to him. You know you're the GoAT when the Goats think you're the 🐐

[@hamzahsyahputra696]

Henry: "..Originally Ronaldo..". YEAH! Thats only one RONALDO! Thanks LEGEND!

[@jaijeet7459]

Yep, that's why Cristiano established his own legacy by CR7. El Phenomeno was just breathtaking, Cristiano has always been my idol but no one compares to this guy.

[@bayorgartweh8245]

All hail King George, the GOAT (the greatest of all time)! 🇱🇷💪🏾✊🏾🔥

[@L1AM_20_10]

Van basten was my childhood hero too! Never knew Henry idolized him. They both have different playing styles but you can't fault van basten he was unique. And everyone looked up to him. Van basten and weah are probably the best striking duo in football history. The best era of football late 80's 90's.

[@primemelon9496]

He wore the #12 for France in honour of Van Basten

[@yao052]

@@primemelon9496 true

[@demonkiyubi]

4:10 " Ohhh George !! "

[@007Fusiion]

"Ohh Carolina!".

[@James-kd8bb]

Henry is a legend 100% 🙌 he had it all he was unreal for us at Arsenal

[@kanehenry2606]

Listen to the legend is something that i always like,it's great to talk about the best players on the planet

[@kingthomas9798]

Our president 🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷💪

[@einc70]

Van basten, Romario, weah etc.. definitely greatest talents back in the mid 90s. For sure.

[@ibrahimcamara9149]

U guys forget r baggio

[@warldorwessarnoelt3936]

George Weah was so good that intolerance couldn’t stop anyone for voting him as European and World Best Player in 1995

[@ajpierre]

exactly they had no choice

[@mirceapintelie361]

Actually that was the year when the rules have changed to allow non european players to be nominated.Thats why Maradona never won Ballon d'Or

[@warldorwessarnoelt3936]

@@mirceapintelie361 you have a point but I m talking about voting a non “commercialized” person of African descent to be crowned the “best” in the “world” . Let’s face the music

[@awesomefaith5178]

Thierry is right: George Weah had power, speed, finishing, n aerial scoring abilities. (I saw it first-hand). Just like Cristiano, Weah started as a right winger #7 in Africa & Monaco (insane dribbler) but later moved into #9, n still razed hell. Cristiano reminds me alot about Weah. Both @ 6ft 2in - from the traditional # 7, got into center roles with strentgh, speed n terrestrial n aerial abilities to match. Complete!!

[@alextl97]

You know you were good at football when thierry henry consideres you his idol.

[@ahmedabutaleb]

Great Program Guys 2 legends talking about the legends , so for me the best ever is the phenomenon R9

[@Messenger136]

Who else loved "the original Ronaldo " 😂

[@mysteriouspimp]

me

[@simonshashipapo4996]

Originally Ronaldo was the best ever. 2 severe knee injuries but still top world cup goal scorer..

[@87abig]

me

[@luketutolo]

Everyone

[@phinehasmathius415]

R9 The true goat ... Robbed of that joy of many years of true peak thru injuries ... yes, he never reached his true peak and that’s the scary part ... he had to reinvent his game cause he lost that superhuman pace

[@MorningRunner_]

1:33 "the original" Ronaldo... lol!

[@shehzaadasongeet7676]

Morning Runner Yeah...Brazilian Ronaldo The Phenomenon

[@reevesmirondo]

Morning Runner sounds like there is a fake Ronaldo 😂🤣

[@CliffdeZoete]

C. Ronaldo is pretty fake alright. Wannabe Messi...

[@valt1337]

at least he wasnt rude like Mourinho when he said "im talking about the real ronaldo" reffering to ronaldo nazzario and not to cr7

[@MM-vr8rj]

@@reevesmirondo well not a fake one but a plastic one

[@BullykutaAmin]

I love George weah

[@yogararku9053]

king George weah Liberia

[@sesothomusichub2503]

The respect he has for other players 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽..

[@karloskaumunika2750]

Simply beautiful....

[@henrykettor5036]

George Weah, the Legend

[@muslimmakhachev3746]

For me in my entire life... i never seen a player with the ball on his feet fast speed as Ronaldo Nazario..he truely unbeleivable

[@TheLightknight7]

Imagine putting R9 - Thierry Henry as the forwards and Messi delivering passes and creating spaces. Unstoppable team 🔥

[@emmanuelziah451]

Thierry Henry you have gain my respect!

[@oscarserrano5846]

Lol Hernry "Oh George"

[@GeoWrld-wq5se]

2003 henry was a beast imo he is at the same page with the legends

George Oppong Weah : Mr George was really something. Guys who do not know him, please watch the game Monaco vs Samdoria.

ronaldo is the best ever

[@libardoavillalobosnegrete2550]

Me puedes decir que dicen rsyos dos del fenómeno. Ronaldo

[@euanmuller6821]

Messi is and will always be the GOAT

[@euanmuller6821]

Roy Sunshine umm do u 2atch football kiddo or are you just salty now

[@Nautilus1972]

At what?

[@countrihit9503]

Romario is better than R9

[@jimdin24]

Are U Mad?

[@rageshvarman4689]

Henry14= GOD

[@SolTheLegend]

yes yes yes yes I FUCKING LOVE HIM .. THIS GUY.. UGH I CAN'T REALLY DESCRIBE IT

[@lemeilleurpourlafrance7946]

Henry speaks the truth from the heart, he is a real man and understands football as nobody does. an real football expert :)

[@СлаваРоссия-у7ж]

Ragesh Varman I was so happy when Barça signed him in 2007!

[@slapingsboss9318]

Remember that Weah played defence for his country sometimes too. And He was out standing as a defender as well . He even still sometimes play defence in Some charity games. So Weah was the best of all

[@riddley39]

George has got to be the greatest 50 year old to ever play the game hands down!!

[@Obizz1000]

African Powerr!!!!

[@007Fusiion]

Glad Henry didn't respond to that.

[@woundedlion3620]

Eeeeh Thierry Henry said I loved George mehnnnn!🇱🇷🇱🇷

[@peterr3759]

Can't rank this, 3 amazing players with different achievements in different times, enjoyed them all 4, including Henry.

[@TheRealKillingMoon]

George Weah was an awesome player back in the day.

[@chiboy39]

I hope someday there's a roundtable full of legends and talk about recent football.

[@karadanianoI]

this man is the reason of why till this day i'm an arsenal fan.

[@Channelforgood00]

Phenomenal he was the best

[@mohammedmsheriff7480]

He was king George Weah, greatest physical footballer

[@TheGhazy]

He just became Liberia President. Now you have other choice than to call him Mr. George.

[@shitouze]

It was his nickname in France dude since he played for PSG. In Paris everybody always call Weah Mister George

[@kofi61161]

This is great Rio

[@naturalview1245]

Original ronaldo LOL

[@erlanggaprasetyo1606]

yeah, even Henry said that.. LOL

[@billywalendom]

its less insulting than saying the 'real' ronaldo though

[@lemeilleurpourlafrance7946]

LOL in your face!

[@eugenmengel8372]

jonas tanberg hallo bist du ein deutscher?

[@kingkenzokwansa]

People disrespect the legend Romario was. In my top 5 football all-time greats.

[@jackriver1999]

Romario might be the best finisher of all time. Scores over 700 career goals, World Cup Winner and Ballon d'Or winner. I think why he's underrated is because he didn't have a sustained period of success in a top league in Europe, like Maradona at Napoli, Van Basten at Milan or Ronaldinho at Barcelona. Although I agree he is as good as those players I mentioned.

[@kingkenzokwansa]

@@jackriver1999 he was excellent at PSV and Barcelona and I thought he was good at Valencia as well. He had a sustained period of success in Europe but he decided to go back home but the absence from the 98 and 02 World Cup squads did him harm though

[@jackriver1999]

@@kingkenzokwansa I meant like having a great career at one top European club. His name would have been immortalized in the eyes of European journalists who have a lot of influence on these conversations. I know PSV has great history but the domestic league is weak compared to Spain, England, Germany, Italy. Romario for a long time was in my top 10 players of all time so I don't personally underrate him.

[@kingkenzokwansa]

@@jackriver1999 he joined the European Cup holders PSV after their historic treble and Barça after their first European Cup. The english league was still the old Division One before the creation of the Premier League. England was still serving the European ban and was not considered as a top league back then same with the German league. The Dutch League and the French League were ahead of them. Romario played consistently at a top level with both clubs.

[@kingkenzokwansa]

@@jackriver1999 Romario's problems were with the national team coaches Zagallo and Scolari

[@aiyyazmohammed507]

I appreciate the older gsme too I don't even watch today's. I missed how it was back then

[@martyminus90]

Rio, give us more of this.

[@doubleg098]

Weah is now the President of his country, Liberia

[@sbakernyc5761]

shows you how good Ronaldo was as a teenager and 20 year old. He's one year older than Henry but Henry called him his idol...shame he couldn't stay fit. He's considered an all time great and was more or less washed up at 30...lolol kind of the same story actually

[@stanmonzon5788]

Gerd Muller is my favourite. What a striker.

[@mittok]

'you dun'kno'

[@ammaardawood9247]

The way he said it was so awesome lmao !

[@aleksthegreat4130]

George Weah is the president of Liberia right now.

[@juanjosebooks7991]

Wow...two legends!!!

[@pirolas03]

Thierry speaking if others like he's not part of it, quit been humble Henry you are one of the greats too

[@babaibrahim9809]

that is great let someone talk about you ,not like some our arrogant strikers who are calling them self best cos they won tree champions league

[@rayd0769]

Weah is underrated AF

[@variousgames157]

Man.. Henry really loves george 😅

[@rajaouinho1]

1:33 Original Ronaldo lol

[@FOS1993]

Rio mate, get back on these after The Covid if you can. Top man 👏🏼

[@andoreskuqi7597]

this was nice, more of this please !

[@ajpierre]

PRESIDENT GEORGE WEAH!

[@khurmiful]

Mr George was a force of nature. If he played for a bigger nation he would have been a much bigger global star

[@amarjamoo3468]

People were taking pictures of me, and I'm thinking "ARE YOU MAD!?" lol love Thierry

[@md-xq6fv]

my top 5 strikers ever ronaldo arsenal henry liverpool suarez old cristiano personally bergkamp or baggio as cf

[@zakzanotti5868]

I'm an arsenal fan, but you can't say rio ain't a legend defending wise he was unreal for Man Utd give the man some credit.

[@prashantraikar7813]

Wat a lovely background view in the interview apart from Ronaldo R9!!!!!!!

[@nunogomes5705]

Weah is Legend

[@rolandkarnuah3521]

y oooooo WEAH d best. Henry can not get over d skill of Mr WEAH, can u image.

[@ammarizvandiar5374]

ronaldos crossovers were absolute disgustinggg The defenders shook when he was coming through

[@philipeze2153]

Maradona... May his gentle soul rest in peace

[@gglodz5343]

We all know R9 was the best ever. Won Balloon d'Or at 19yrs old a feat no-one ever met.

[@tonecapone8392]

cool nobody talks about George Weah anymore

[@harunyahyadotorg]

Let’s watch George

[@docdre2729]

I love that he mentioned Romario. Romario was a big time BALLER

[@nunogomes5705]

T.H legend

[@michaelbleach5453]

Weah the best

[@daffpapakroos8321]

R9 god of football