Ballon d’Or chaos as Kane, Yamal and Mbappe ‘leaked’ as winners before ceremony
Three versions of the story emerged, and were swiftly taken down.
The Ballon d’Or website has published three separate articles naming Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe as winner of the 2026 men’s award.
Hours before the ceremony for the 70th edition of the individual accolade at Palladium Theatre in London, chaos descended when a link emerged announcing England captain Kane had received the honour.
“A record-breaking welter of league and cup goals in 2025/26 has propelled Harry Kane to Ballon d’Or success,” read the story on the official website of the prestigious France Football prize.
However, further links were subsequently found to articles hailing Real Madrid forward Mbappe and Barcelona winger Yamal as victors.
All three versions have now been taken down.
Press Association has approached Ballon d’Or organisers for comment on the apparent leaks, which could potentially have confirmed the top three for this year’s award.
In a further twist on an eventful night for this year’s edition, it was announced inside the venue at 7.46pm that the ceremony had been delayed by 30 minutes to an 8.30pm start. No official reason was given.