Ballon d'Or chaos: Official website leaks three winners in major blunder

The Ballon d'Or ceremony was hit by an embarrassing blunder after the official website published articles naming Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal as winners, hours before the event began.Lamine Yamal (L) and Kylian Mbappe (R) could be in the race for the Ballon d'Or. (Image: Reuters)New Delhi,Oct 26, 2026 23:45 ISTThe Ballon d'Or ceremony was plunged into chaos before it had even begun after the award's official website mistakenly published three articles naming Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal as winners.The articles appeared on the website around two and a half hours before the ceremony at The London Palladium, sparking speculation that the organisers had accidentally revealed the winner of football's most prestigious individual award.According to *Daily Mail* journalist Nathan Salt, the organisers were left shocked by the blunder and launched an investigation into how the articles had gone live. The pages were later removed, but not before screenshots began circulating on social media.THREE PLAYERS NAMED AS WINNERSEach of the three articles named a different player as the Ballon d'Or winner. The piece on Kane highlighted his goals from last season, while the article on Yamal described the Barcelona star as the youngest winner in the award's history. The third named Mbappe, praising his goalscoring record and consistency in recent years. The conflicting reports left fans wondering whether the website had published draft articles prepared ahead of the ceremony or accidentally revealed the names of the leading contenders.One article claimed Mbappe's goalscoring exploits for Real Madrid had earned him his first Ballon d'Or. Another declared that Yamal had become the youngest winner of the award, which was first presented in 1956.The articles were quickly taken down, but their brief appearance was enough to set off a wave of speculation across the football world.QUESTIONS OVER HOW THE BLUNDER HAPPENEDThe timing of the mistake raised further questions, given that voting for the 2026 Ballon d'Or closed on September 28. The organisers would have had time to prepare coverage in advance, but the publication of three separate articles naming different winners left the circumstances unclear.The incident did not confirm who had won the award, and it remained unclear whether any of the articles reflected the actual result. The organisers were reportedly investigating how the pages had been published.The Ballon d'Or winner is decided by an international jury of specialist journalists, who assess players on their individual performances, team achievements and conduct during the season.With the ceremony still to come, the website blunder had already handed the organisers an unwanted controversy on one of football's biggest nights.- Ends