Kane prematurely announced as Ballon d'Or winner - but he wasn't only one
Summary
The Ballon d'Or website briefly posted articles declaring Harry Kane and several other players winners of the 2026 awards, hours before the results were due to be announced in London. The articles were later removed, and it was unclear whether they had been published by mistake or taken down as a response to the confusion.Key Facts
- An article titled “Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d'Or” circulated online shortly after 17:15 GMT on Monday.
- The awards ceremony was scheduled for that evening at London's Palladium Theatre, more than four and a half hours after the article appeared.
- Similar articles on the Ballon d'Or website named Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi as possible men's winners.
- Articles about women's award contenders Alexia Putellas and Ewa Pajor also appeared.
- The articles about Kane and Mbappe had been removed by shortly before 17:40 BST.
- The article said journalists voted for the award at the end of September.
- Kane could become the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or since 2001.
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