Organisers ‘in shock’ following social media glitch

Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal made it onto the podium at this year’s Ballon d’Or. The organisers themselves had already dropped a crucial hint hours before the official announcement.

The Ballon d’Or was presented in London on Monday evening. In the run-up to the event, the bookmakers had identified two clear favourites: Golden Shoe winner Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) and World Cup winner Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona). Champions League and La Liga top scorer Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) was considered more of an outsider. The organisers themselves effectively announced – several hours before the official announcement, and quite by accident – that this trio would make up the top three.

Whilst Kane’s Munich team-mates Dayot Upamecano (ranked 26th in his first nomination) and Luis Díaz (24th) learnt of their placings around 6 pm, screenshots of three articles circulating on social media caused quite a stir at the same time. On the official Ballon d’Or website, three different winner announcements were in fact published – one naming Kane as the winner, another Lamine Yamal as the triumphant winner, and a third Mbappé as the winner. The organisers were evidently prepared.

Kane’s best goals from his total of 61 in the 2025/26 season were listed. For the “new king”, Lamine Yamal, the focus was on his newly set record as the youngest winner at 19 – something not even record-holder Lionel Messi (who has triumphed eight times) had managed. Currently, the Brazilian Ronaldo, who won in 1997 at the age of 21, is the youngest winner. Mbappé, who had decided the Clásico on Sunday evening with a brace, was hailed as “the embodiment of consistency at the very highest level”.

Lamine Yamal’s text remains online

The term “Ballon d’Oops” quickly began circulating online. The Daily Mail, which is headquartered in London, reported that the organisers were “in shock”. According to the English newspaper, it had alerted the organisers to the erroneously published texts; those concerning Kane and Mbappé were swiftly deleted, whilst the one naming Lamine Yamal as the winner remained online for a further 30 minutes after the organisers were notified. An internal investigation is already underway.

Even before the gala began, the organisers issued a statement: “Portraits of some of the Ballon d’Or nominees, created by Ballondor.com, were accidentally published online. These articles had been prepared in advance for all nominees in the event of a win. They in no way reveal the podium places, which are currently unknown to anyone.” In the end, however, it came as little surprise that the trio did indeed finish in the top three.

Shortly before midnight, it was officially confirmed that Kane had pipped his closest rival Mbappé to the post and could now call himself the Ballon d’Or winner. Lamine Yamal, who won the Kopa Trophy for the third year running, had to settle for “just” third place.