Ballon d’Or Official Website Publishes Article Naming Harry Kane as Winner Before Taking It Down
The Ballon d’Or website sparked confusion hours before the 2026 awards ceremony after publishing an article naming Harry Kane as the winner of the men’s award, before two other articles featuring Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal also appeared.
The incident happened ahead of the 70th edition of the prestigious football awards, scheduled to take place at the Palladium Theatre in London.
The first article discovered named England captain Kane as the winner, crediting his record-breaking goalscoring performances during the 2025/26 season.
The article stated that his goals in league and cup competitions had propelled him to Ballon d’Or success.
However, after the Kane article was taken down, separate links appeared on the official website naming Real Madrid forward Mbappe and Barcelona winger Yamal as winners.
All three articles were subsequently removed.
The sequence of publications raised questions about whether the website had accidentally revealed prepared content ahead of the official announcement.
While the appearance of the Kane article first drew attention, the subsequent publications featuring Mbappe and Yamal added to the confusion. It remains unclear whether the additional articles were published as part of a technical error or another issue involving the website.
There is no confirmed evidence that the later articles were deliberately published to cover up the initial publication.
The Press Association reported that it had contacted the Ballon d’Or organisers for comment on the apparent leaks.
About the Author
Karrel Hamutenya is a senior sports journalist at The Updated World, with more than five years of experience reporting on local sport in Namibia and international sports news.His work covers match reports, transfer updates, and exclusive interviews with athletes, providing fans with deeper insight into the game and the people behind it.
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