Ballon d'Or site names Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé as winners in blunder
The official Ballon d'Or website mistakenly published articles naming three different players as winners of the 2026 men's award, hours before Monday's ceremony in London.
Harry Kane , Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal were each declared winners in separate articles which appeared on the organisers' website before being taken down.
The articles, which appeared around two-and-a-half hours before the ceremony was due to begin at the London Palladium, prompted speculation that the winner of football's most prestigious individual award had been revealed early.
It turned out the organizer France Football had prepared many announcements -- to be ready for when the winner is announced -- but they were accidentally posted well ahead of the gala at The London Palladium.
"Some profiles of nominees prepared by BallonDor.com were inadvertently published online," the organizer said in a statement to the BBC. "These articles had been prepared for all nominees and should in no way be considered as an indication of the final results or rankings."
One article was headlined "Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d'Or" and highlighted the Bayern Munich striker's goalscoring exploits during the 2025-26 season.
Another declared that Barcelona 's Yamal had become the youngest winner in the award's 70-year history, while a third credited Real Madrid forward Mbappé's consistency at the highest level for his supposed triumph.
All three articles were subsequently removed, but not before screenshots circulated on social media.
Harry Kane was ultimately named as the men's Ballon d'Or winner with Alexia Putellas winning the women's prize.
Kane, Mbappé and Yamal were among the leading contenders for this year's award, which is being presented in London for the first time.
Kane is bidding to become the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001, while 19-year-old Yamal would become the youngest winner in history if successful.
Mbappé, meanwhile, is seeking his first Ballon d'Or after another prolific campaign for club and country.
The 2026 winner is due to be officially announced during Monday evening's ceremony.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.