The Ballon d’Or were forced to release a statement after accidentally publishing several articles on their official site all announcing different winners ahead of Monday’s ceremony.
Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe all had articles published on them winning the coveted award, with the three articles later deleted.
A subsequent statement from a Ballon d’Or spokesperson said: “Portraits of some Ballon d’Or nominees prepared by Ballondor.com were inadvertently published online.
“These articles had been prepared in advance for all nominees in the event of a win. They DO NOT, in any way, reveal the podium, which remains unknown to everyone at this time.”
The Ballon d’Or ceremony, hosted in London, has now been pushed back to 8:30pm GMT, which is unknown to be a result of the article mistakes.
Ballon d’Or”: Kane prematurely named winner
An article naming Harry Kane as the winner of the 2026 Ballon d’Or began circulating online shortly after 17:15 GMT on Monday, more than four hours before the ceremony was due to begin at London’s Palladium Theatre.
The piece, published on the award’s official website, sparked confusion over whether organisers France Football had accidentally revealed the winner after journalists voted at the end of September.
However, further investigation revealed similar articles had also been published for other leading contenders, including Barcelona’s Yamal and Real Madrid’s Mbappe.
You can follow live updates on the Ballon D’or ceremony with 101GreatGoals.
More to follow.
Where to watch Ballon d’Or 2026: TV channel, live online stream
In most territories, you can watch the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony free on DAZN.
Viewers without an existing DAZN account should create a free membership using their email address.
For other territories, visit UEFA’s Ballon d’Or broadcast list.
You Should Also Read
