The Ballon d’Or organisers mistakenly published the names of multiple men’s award “winners” on their website on Monday, hours before the ceremony.
Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal were each named as winners in separate articles published on the organisers’ website around two-and-a-half hours before the event was due to begin at the London Palladium. The articles were widely shared online, sparking confusion over whether France Football had accidentally revealed the winners before the official announcement.
France Football later clarified that the articles were prepared in advance for all nominees and had been published by mistake. “Some profiles of nominees prepared by BallonDor.com were inadvertently published online,” the organisers said in a statement to the BBC. “These articles had been prepared for all nominees and should in no way be considered as an indication of the final results or rankings.”
🚨🏆 Ballon d'Or Chaos!The official Ballon d'Or website accidentally published articles naming Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, and Lamine Yamal as the 2026 winner before the ceremony. The articles were quickly taken down, but not before screenshots spread across social media👀 One award. Three "winners". Football fans were left scratching their heads!@robertmarawa #BallonDor #HarryKane #Mbappe #LamineYamal #FootballNews 🚨🏆
— Marawa Sports Worldwide (@MarawaSportShow) October 26, 2026
One article, headlined “Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d’Or”, praised the Bayern Munich striker’s goalscoring record during the 2025-26 season. Another claimed Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal had become the youngest winner in the award’s 70-year history, while a third credited Real Madrid forward Mbappé’s consistency at the highest level for his supposed victory. Similar articles were also published for the women’s award nominees Alexia Putellas and Ewa Pajor.
Kane was ultimately named the men’s Ballon d’Or winner, while Putellas claimed the women’s prize. Kane became the first Englishman to win the men’s Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001, while Putellas claimed the women’s award for a record-equalling third time. Mbappe finished second, followed by Lamine, Rodri and Lionel Messi.
Putellas joins Spain team-mate Aitana Bonmatí on three Ballon d’Or Feminin titles. Bonmatí won the award in 2023, 2024 and 2025, following Putellas’ back-to-back victories in 2021 and 2022.
(Inputs from Associated Press, BBC)
