Ballon d'Or website posts Harry Kane win story, then takes it down
The official Ballon d'Or website published an article saying Harry Kane had won the 2026 award, then removed it on Monday afternoon.
The piece was headlined "Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d'Or". It began circulating online shortly after 17:15 GMT, according to BBC Sport. Kane plays for Bayern Munich. If he wins, he will be the first Englishman to take the award since 2001.
The Ballon d'Or is run by France Football magazine. It is given each year to the best male player, and the winner is chosen by votes from journalists. Those votes were cast at the end of September. The 2026 nominees were revealed on 8 September, and Kane was on the list.
Kane was not the only player to have an article prepared in advance. Similar winner pieces were also posted on the site for Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Inter Miami's Lionel Messi. Articles like these are usually written ahead of time so they can go live the moment a result is known.
The articles about Kane and Mbappe were taken off the website a short time after they appeared. Nothing else about the page has been confirmed.
The women's award has its own winner pieces too. Alexia Putellas of London City Lionesses and Barcelona's Ewa Pajor each had a similar article written about them. The women's event was also taking place on Monday night.
The ceremony was due to be held at London's Palladium Theatre. It is the first time the awards have been staged in London, England. The official winners will be announced when the awards are presented.
For fans in England, the name at the top of the page was a moment of excitement, even though it came out of order. For everyone else, it was a reminder of how quickly a result can travel online, sometimes before the people in the room have heard it.
