When someone with a stature as impressive as Thierry Henry's effusively praises you in the build up to a game, you stop and listen. It's a proud moment when a player like Henry admires you for your footballing ability. For Bayern Munich men Franck Ribery & Thomas Muller, this is exactly the scenario they are currently in.

Henry, 36, was speaking to the media before he takes part in what may well be his last MLS All Stars game against the Bavarian side.

"If I had a son right now playing I’d say look at [Franck] Ribery and look at [Thomas] Muller," Henry told media at a Monday press conference. "What Ronaldo does and [Lionel] Messi they are just freaks. It’s true. Don’t try to copy those guys because they’re just freaks and that doesn’t happen often. But you can copy Franck Ribery and you can copy Thomas Muller.

"It’s funny how people don’t look at the game the way they should look at the game," continued Henry. "People, especially now the media, they love a guy with stepovers, tricks and things like that. But the game is what Thomas Muller is doing for me. That’s the game."

 The attacker, who has amazed MLS fans with his array of skills, creativity and finishing, used the press conference as a chance to express who and what he loved about the game, with Ribery one of the top names on his list. Henry feels that his fellow Frenchman should have won the 2013 Balon d'Or having lifted the German Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA World Club Cup with die Roten, with the award instead won by Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Nowadays I find it to be annoying sometimes that people don’t give a lot of credit to guys that are unselfish," Henry said about his former teammate on the international level with France. "For me Franck represents that. He’s very unselfish on the field and tries to play for his team. Whenever he can pass the ball even when he can score he’ll try to pass it.

"Last year, for me, [Ribery] should’ve won the Golden Ball, basically because he won everything with Bayern and he was dominant," he continued. "He’s a team player and most of the time in our game we reward guys who are individual and that guy is not."

It is clear that although Ribery & Muller  are without doubt world class footballers, Henry feels they're not elevated on the same podium that the likes of Ronaldo & Messi are.

"If anyone had the record [Muller] has at the World Cup -- people talk about it, but they don’t talk about it the way they should," Henry said. "He defends. He attacks. He controls the ball when he has to control it. He reverses when he has to reverse. Finishes it when he has to finish. … Thomas Muller for me he does what the game asks him to do.

"I just like people who respect the game and it’s not always easy to do what the game is asking you to do," he said. "It sounds simple, but it’s one of the most difficult things.

In this instance, it's hard not to agree with Henry. Ribery & Muller are top class, hard-working professionals, and often go under the radar when the top names in world football are mentioned. The duo will certainly struggle to find higher praise than that.

Quotes via MLS.com

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About the author
Sean Tansley
Budding sports journalist and unbiased Liverpool fan.