Ballon d'Or 'winners' published by mistake hours before men's award

Associated Press

Oct 26, 2026

Lamine Yamal of Spain is hugged by president of FC Barcelona Joan Laporta as they attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

England's soccer player Harry Kane attends the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

France's soccer player Kylian Mbappé attends the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

LONDON (AP) — Call it an own goal.

Organizers of the Ballon d’Or event mistakenly published multiple “winners” of the men’s award on its website Monday hours before the ceremony.

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One announcement read, in part, “Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d'Or” — and similar articles described Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé also winning.

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.

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“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.”

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