Ballon d'Or 2026 chaos as three 'winners' accidentally announced in bizarre leak
Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal have all been announced as the 2026 Ballon d'Or winner in three separate articles published on the ceremony's official website before the 70th annual awards evening has even begun on Monday night at the London Palladium. All three have since been removed, with the England captain's one - which said "a record-breaking welter of league and cup goals in 2025/26 has propelled Harry Kane to Ballon d'Or success" under the headline "Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d'Or" - being the first to go on Monday evening.
TL;DR
- Three separate articles on the official Ballon d'Or website mistakenly announced Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Lamine Yamal as the 2026 winners.
- The articles were published before the 70th annual awards ceremony.
- Lamine Yamal's announcement noted him as the youngest winner in Ballon d'Or history at 19, surpassing previous record holders Ronaldo Nazario and Lionel Messi.
- All three prematurely published articles were subsequently removed.
- Kane, Mbappe, and Yamal are considered the favorites for the award, with a long list of other nominees also mentioned.