Ballon d’Or winner announced by mistake

The organization of the Ballon d’Or failed by mistakenly lifting the veil on the identity of the lucky 2026 winner.

By Manu Tournoux · French Football Weekly

Published: Monday, 26 October 2026 at 9:29 PM

Key Things to Know

The official Ballon d'Or website mistakenly published articles prematurely declaring Harry Kane the trophy winner.
Premature coronation articles were also published for fellow favorites Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal.
All three articles were subsequently taken down by organizers, seemingly revealing the expected top three finishers.

The Story in 60 Seconds

The official Ballon d'Or website mistakenly published articles prematurely declaring the winner of the 2026 trophy. An article prematurely announced Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane as the recipient following his 61-goal campaign, which was quickly noticed across social media platforms before being taken down.

According to insider Romain Molina, prepared coronation articles for fellow frontrunners Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal were also erroneously published online. Organizers subsequently deleted all three articles, effectively revealing the podium favorites ahead of the official ceremony.

Read the full article on French Football Weekly

Ballon d’Or winner announced by mistake

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