Ballon d’Or website posts premature winner article about Harry Kane

An article briefly published on the Ballon d’Or’s official website appeared to declare Harry Kane the winner of the 2026 men’s award hours before the ceremony, but similar articles about other contenders were also posted, leaving it unclear whether the posts were a mistake.

The BBC reported that the Kane article began circulating online shortly after 17:15 GMT on Monday, more than four and a half hours before the winner was due to be announced at London’s Palladium Theatre. The posts prompted speculation that the award’s organisers had revealed the result early.

But the website also carried articles about Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi. Similar pieces were written about Alexia Putellas and Ewa Pajor, two contenders for the women’s award.

The articles about Kane and Mbappé had been removed by shortly before 17:40 BST, the BBC reported. It was not clear whether they had been published accidentally or whether their removal was deliberate.

Kane, who could become the first Englishman to win the men’s award since 2001, was still waiting for the result as the ceremony approached.