Harry Kane was initially reported as the men’s Ballon d’Or winner on Monday night, though the confirmation proved premature.
At 17:15 GMT, an article on the award’s official website titled ‘Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d’Or’ started circulating online.
The rapid spread of the article sparked online confusion, leading some to question whether France Football, the award’s organizer, had failed to keep the eventual winner, selected by journalists at the end of September, under wraps.
Further investigation of the Ballon d’Or website showed that similar profile articles had also been published for other nominees, such as Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé.
“Some nominee profiles prepared by BallonDor.com were inadvertently published online.”
“These articles were prepared for all nominees and should not be taken as an indication of the final results or rankings.”
By 17:40, the articles concerning Kane and Mbappé were removed from the website.
Similar articles were also published about London City Lionesses star Alexia Putellas and Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor. Putellas was subsequently confirmed as the women’s Ballon d’Or winner.
The premature announcement may have generated excitement in Kane that this could be his year, but he only needed a short wait to confirm the actual result.