Did Harry Kane Win the 2026 Ballon d'Or? The Announcement That Sparked Chaos
The official Ballon d'Or website named the English striker as the winner hours before the ceremony, but an unexpected discovery cast doubt on the announcement.
For a few minutes, it looked like Harry Kane had finally achieved his dream of winning the 2026 Ballon d'Or. The award's official website published an article announcing the English striker as the winner, even though the ceremony in London was still several hours away.
The article began circulating shortly after 5:15 PM London time on Monday, October 26, quickly spreading across social media. Many fans believed the organizers had accidentally revealed the result of one of football's most anticipated individual awards.
But what initially looked like a major leak soon took an even stranger turn. Kane wasn't the only footballer being announced as the Ballon d'Or winner.
Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal Were Also Announced as Winners
As fans explored the official website, they discovered similar articles naming Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal as winners of the same award.
The article about the Real Madrid forward appeared alongside another celebrating the young Barcelona star.
Suddenly, three different players had apparently been crowned winners of the same Ballon d'Or. The conflicting announcements made it clear that none of the articles could be treated as confirmation of the actual result.
Before long, the pages announcing Kane and Mbappé as winners had been removed from the website, although screenshots were already circulating online.
What Happened to the Official Ballon d'Or Website?
One possible explanation is that the organizers had prepared several articles in advance, ready to publish once the winner was officially announced.
This is a common practice at major sporting events, allowing media and communications teams to report results almost immediately. In this case, however, several versions appear to have become publicly accessible too early.
Reports also indicated that articles naming Alexia Putellas and Ewa Pajor as winners of the women's Ballon d'Or had appeared on the website.
It remains unclear exactly how the articles went live or whether their removal was part of an effort to contain the mistake. What was certain was that the apparent leak had failed to reveal who had actually won the award.
Harry Kane Hopes to Become the First English Winner Since 2001
Despite the confusion, Kane entered the ceremony as one of the leading contenders following an outstanding season with Bayern Munich.
The striker was hoping to become the first English player to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001, although he faced strong competition from Mbappé and Yamal.
Voting by the international jury of journalists had already closed in late September, meaning the premature articles had no bearing on the final outcome.
Instead, the incident created an unexpected controversy just hours before football's most prestigious individual award was due to be presented.
Key Facts About the 2026 Ballon d'Or Winner Leak
- The incident appears to have been a publishing mistake by the Ballon d'Or organizers.
- None of the players named in the articles had officially received the award at the time of the apparent leak.
- The premature announcements appeared on the official Ballon d'Or website, hours before the ceremony in London.
