Ballon d'Or website publishes multiple winner articles before London ceremony

Ballon d'Or organisers mistakenly published articles naming different winners before Monday's ceremony in London, with Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal all appearing in premature announcements. The Associated Press reported that France Football had prepared alternative articles ahead of the event at the London Palladium, but the material went online before the awards were presented.

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According to BBC Sport, an article declaring Kane the 2026 men's winner began circulating at 17:15 GMT on October 26. Its appearance raised questions about whether the outcome had been disclosed early. Further checks found comparable pages for Barcelona's Yamal and Real Madrid's Mbappé, rather than a single announcement identifying one player as the confirmed recipient.

A Ballon d'Or spokesperson told the BBC that nominee profiles had been published by accident. The spokesperson said material had been prepared for every nominee and warned that the pages did not reveal either the results or the final order. AP also reported that explanation, attributing the statement to the organiser's response to the BBC.

The error was not confined to the men's contenders. BBC Sport reported that similar articles existed for London City Lionesses player Alexia Putellas and Barcelona's Ewa Pajor. By 17:40, the pages concerning Kane and Mbappé had been taken down. Putellas was subsequently confirmed as the recipient of the women's Ballon d'Or during the awards ceremony.

Kane ultimately did win the men's prize, but that later result was separate from the mistaken early publication. Sports Illustrated reported that the Bayern Munich forward became the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001. It also reported that Kane had scored 73 goals for club and country during the 2025-26 season, describing his contribution as extending beyond goalscoring.

Sports Illustrated's account likewise noted that the apparent early revelation of Kane's victory was followed by the discovery of equivalent articles about Mbappé and Yamal. The episode concerned prepared website copy reaching readers too soon: the organisers' explanation was that multiple possible announcements had been made public, not that several players had jointly won the men's award.