The official Ballon d'Or website posted three separate articles on Monday, each naming a different player – England striker Harry Kane, Spain’s prodigy Lamine Yamal and France’s Kylian Mbappé – as the winner of the 2026 men’s award, just hours before the ceremony in London.
The contradictory posts appeared on the site’s news feed and quickly drew attention from fans and media, prompting the organization to acknowledge a technical error that led to the multiple announcements.
Ballon d'Or, presented by France Football, is widely regarded as football’s most prestigious individual accolade, traditionally awarded to the player judged to have performed best over the previous season.
The award ceremony is scheduled for Monday evening in London, where the official winner will be revealed in a live event attended by football’s elite and broadcast worldwide.
Organisers have not yet confirmed when a corrected announcement will be posted, but they assured that the true recipient will be confirmed during the ceremony.
<small>Source: ESPN — read the original story there.</small>