Ballon d'Or 2026: calls for clarification

Clearly, the case surrounding the suspicious betting linked to Harry Kane’s recent triumph is still a long way from revealing all its secrets.

Three days before the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony, held in London, investigative outlet Upside highlighted troubling financial activity on Polymarket. This is a famous prediction platform that is strictly prohibited in France. Between 1 and 20 October, around a dozen anonymous accounts invested the staggering sum of $264,000, betting on an extremely precise final ranking: the English striker as the winner, ahead of Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi, in that order.

This scenario came true down to the last detail in the final verdict, allowing these mysterious bettors to pocket a windfall of around $200,000. A genuine media bombshell dissected by Daniel Riolo and Romain Molina.

“There absolutely needs to be clarification”

Asked about the stance France Football should adopt, RMC columnist Daniel Riolo called for urgent explanations from the event’s organisers. “There absolutely needs to be clarification, because there is suspicion here. What you are revealing is prompting me to ask France Football for an explanation. What happened? The way the bets came in, the amount… it’s just too strange,” he fumed.

Investigative journalist Romain Molina shares this assessment. He admitted to being “quite shocked by how little media attention” the affair has received and called for an immediate internal investigation.

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Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.