Chaos hit the Ballon d'Or on Monday after three separate articles were accidentally published on the ceremony's official website, each naming a different winner: Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.
The pieces appeared online before the 70th annual awards evening had begun at the London Palladium, according to the Express. All three were swiftly taken down.
Three premature winner announcements
The first article to be pulled on Monday evening was about England captain Kane, headlined "Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d'Or". It read: "a record-breaking welter of league and cup goals in 2025/26 has propelled Harry Kane to Ballon d'Or success".
Mbappe's article followed shortly after, titled "Kylian Mbappe wins 2026 Ballon d'Or for consistency personified at the very highest level". It stated: "a record-breaking World Cup and another welter of goals for Los Blancos has brought Kylian Mbappe his first Ballon d'Or triumph".
Yamal's record claim
The piece about Yamal, headlined "Lamine Yamal wins the 2026 Ballon d'Or and sets an unprecedented record", was the last to disappear. It claimed: "In fact, at just 19 years of age, Lamine Yamal has just become the youngest winner in the history of the Ballon d'Or, which was established in 1956."
The article added: "To truly appreciate the scale of his achievement, one need only recall that not even Lionel Messi - the record holder for the most trophies - had managed to win the Ballon d'Or at that age. The Argentine star won it for the first time in 2009, when he was 22 years and 160 days old."
It went on: "The all-time record for the youngest winner, until this magical evening in London, belonged to Ronaldo Nazario, who won the Ballon d'Or at the age of 21 years and 92 days. Now, this historic record belongs to the new king of football and the brand-new winner of the most prestigious trophy on the planet. It belongs to Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana."
All three premature articles were removed from the site before the ceremony got underway.
