Harry Kane briefly appeared to have won the 2026 Ballon d’Or on Monday, after the award’s official website published an article declaring him the winner hours before the ceremony. The only problem: the winner had not been announced yet, and Kane was not the only favourite given the same treatment.
Harry Kane (Credits: BBC Sport)
The article, titled “Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d’Or”, began circulating online shortly after 17:15 GMT on Monday, more than four and a half hours before the winner was due to be revealed at a ceremony at London’s Palladium Theatre. Fans shared it widely, wondering whether France Football, the award’s organisers, had accidentally spoiled their own secret.
Harry Kane Ballon d’Or article was one of several pre-written winners
Further digging soon told a different story. Similar pre-written articles had also been prepared for other favourites, including Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi. The Kane and Mbappe articles were removed from the website just before 17:40 BST.
It remains unclear whether the articles were published by mistake or pulled as damage control once they were spotted. Pre-writing winner stories for every contender is standard practice in sports journalism, but publishing them early is not.
Similar pieces were also prepared for the women’s award, with London City Lionesses star Alexia Putellas and Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor among the favourites given the same treatment. If Kane is to become the first Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or since 2001, he will have to wait for the official announcement like everyone else.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
