Urgent statement ends controversy.. France Football settles the truth about leaking the 2026 Ballon d'Or winner
The identity of the Ballon d'Or 2026 winner remains unconfirmed after the award's official website briefly published three conflicting articles naming Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal as winners ahead of Monday's ceremony in London.
The unusual incident occurred on 26 October, just hours before the 70th edition of the prestigious awards at the London Palladium.
Although the articles were subsequently removed, screenshots spread rapidly across social media, leading some supporters to believe the final result had been leaked.
However, the existence of three different winner announcements means none can be treated as confirmation of the award's outcome. No formal statement specifically denying the reports had been independently verified at the time of publication.
Read Also: Watch Live: Ballon d'Or 2026 Live Updates as World's Greatest Stars Take Center Stage
Ballon d'Or website publishes three different winners
The controversy began when an article declaring Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane the Ballon d'Or 2026 winner appeared on the competition's official website.
The publication highlighted the England captain's outstanding goalscoring performances during the 2025 /26 campaign.
However, further searches uncovered two additional articles announcing victories for Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal.
According to Le Parisien, the three pages were accessible through direct links for approximately half an hour before disappearing.
Their simultaneous existence suggests that different versions may have been prepared in advance for potential winners.
However, the organisers have not publicly confirmed the reason for their publication and it remains unclear whether the incident resulted from a technical error or another problem.
The deleted articles do not establish the final positions of the three players.
Fake Ballon d'Or rankings and messages circulate online
The website incident followed a separate wave of alleged leaks that had already attracted attention on social media.
Documents carrying Ballon d'Or branding circulated online claiming to reveal the final top 10 before the official announcement.
Other posts featured manipulated photographs showing potential winners holding the trophy.
Screenshots of alleged WhatsApp conversations attributed to France Football editor in chief Vincent Garcia were also shared as supposed evidence that the winner's identity had been revealed.
None of these materials has been authenticated as an official announcement.
Why is the Ballon d'Or winner kept secret?
France Football introduced stricter confidentiality procedures to prevent results from becoming public before the ceremony.
Former Ballon d'Or director Pascal Ferre explained to RMC that winners have not been informed of their success in advance since 2024.
He also estimated that no more than five people would know the winner's identity before the announcement.
The measures were designed to preserve the uncertainty surrounding the award until the trophy is presented.
Voting for the 2026 edition closed on 28 September meaning the final result had already been determined before Monday's online controversy.
As Foot Africa previously reported when voting closed, subsequent speculation cannot alter the votes submitted by the international jury.
Ballon d'Or
Today at 16:04
Ballon d'Or
Today at 15:54
Ballon d'Or
Today at 15:08
Africa
Yesterday at 16:43
Exclusive
17 October 2026
Africa
14 October 2026
Europe
12 October 2026
Interviews
06 October 2026