Kane named Ballon d'Or winner in article before ceremony

An article declaring Harry Kane the 2026 Ballon d'Or winner appeared on the award's official website on Monday, more than four and a half hours before the result was due. Similar articles also named other contenders as winners.

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé and Inter Miami's Lionel Messi also had articles declaring them the winner. The Kane and Mbappé pieces were removed from the website. It was unclear whether those articles had been published by mistake or whether their removal was intentional.

Similar articles were published about London City Lionesses' Alexia Putellas and Barcelona's Ewa Pajor. Both were among the favourites for the women's award, also due to be presented on Monday night.

• The London Palladium was chosen to host the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony, which was scheduled to take place in London for the first time.
• UEFA and Groupe Amaury began co-organising the Ballon d'Or in 2024. Groupe Amaury retained ownership of the brand and oversight of the independent voting system.