Thierry Henry admitted he was impressed by Real Madrid after their victory over Manchester City during the analysis on the CBS Sports Golazo show.

The former Arsenal and Barcelona striker openly acknowledged Madrid’s performance, even though he admitted his personal sympathies lie elsewhere.

“I’m a big Barça fan, a Barcelona fan. But you have to give Madrid a lot of credit. Nobody saw it coming. And nobody saw Federico Valverde scoring a hat-trick. Anyone who said they knew Valverde was going to score a hat-trick is lying,” Henry said.

The French legend pointed to the team’s collective effort as the main reason behind the victory.

“I want to talk about the collective effort they made today. That’s how you win matches. Everyone defended for everyone. And Valverde deserves his reward. He’s been a great servant of the club, and scoring three goals isn’t something that happens to him often. So we have to give them credit.”

Henry also highlighted the performance of academy product Thiago Pitarch, who caught his attention during the match.

“I want to talk about… I don’t know how to pronounce his name, Pitarch. Because I watched him closely tonight. What a game! He was all over the place,” Henry said while praising the youngster.

The Frenchman also joked about the mystique surrounding the Real Madrid shirt.

“I don’t know what’s on that shirt. I don’t know what they put on that shirt. Obviously I’m joking, because I don’t want to wear that shirt. But maybe if I do wear it, it’ll help my hair grow back,” he joked, drawing laughter from the studio.

Still, he reinforced the idea that the shirt carries a unique weight in football.

“I know it’s a shirt that carries weight. But I don’t know why, when players put it on, they seem different. It is different. And we have to acknowledge that.”

Henry finished by congratulating Real Madrid despite his Barcelona sympathies.

“In the first leg, I didn’t expect this from Real Madrid. So, although it pains me to say it… well done.”

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