REVEALED: Henry's reaction to missing out on Ballon d'Or to Michael Owen

Emmanuel Petit says his fellow Frenchman, and former Arsenal team-mate, was 'very disappointed' to be beaten to the 2001 award by the then Liverpool striker

Thierry Henry enjoyed a glittering career that saw him win some of the biggest prizes in football, but the Ballon d’Or is among the awards to have passed him by.

He came close to claiming the prestigious honour on a number of occasions, finishing as runner-up in 2003 and third in the 2006 poll.

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Arsenal’s all-time leading goalscorer was also in the running back in 2001, but ended up finishing ninth that year.

Michael Owen, then of Liverpool, led the voting, with Real Madrid icon Raul finishing second and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Khan third.

Henry was ‘very disappointed’ to be overlooked, according to former club and international colleague Emmanuel Petit.

World Cup and Champions League successes would help to soften the blow for the iconic French striker once the day came to hang up his boots, but Petit acknowledges that personal accolades mean more to the world’s top forwards than they do those occupying other positions.

He told SFR Sport: “I remember the game we [France] played in Chile, at Santiago. In the locker room we used for the training sessions, Thierry Henry heard about Michael Owen being announced as Ballon d’or winner - he was very disappointed.

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“From that moment, I understood that this trophy will only concern forwards and strikers.

“From a starting XI, only three or four players will be concerned by the Ballon d’Or - all of the other players know that they don’t have any chance of winning it.

“The strikers are a little bit selfish and the Ballon d’Or is very important for them.”