Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Oct 26

Mbappe Says Kane Deserves 2026 Ballon d'Or as Leak Fuels Winner Rumors Hours Before Ceremony

Updated

Updated · Yahoo Sports · Oct 26

Mbappe Says Kane Deserves 2026 Ballon d'Or as Leak Fuels Winner Rumors Hours Before Ceremony

Q: How did a chaotic Ballon d’Or website leak shape the story before Harry Kane was officially crowned winner?

The website leak turned the build-up into a confusion-filled guessing game and effectively framed the night’s narrative before Harry Kane was officially crowned. Hours before the ceremony in London, the Ballon d’Or website accidentally published prewritten winner pages. One appeared to confirm Kane as the men’s winner, and screenshots spread rapidly on social media, making it look as though the result had been revealed early. That immediately intensified speculation around Kane, who was already viewed as the favorite. The story then became more chaotic when similar pages also surfaced for Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, each declaring them the winner as well. That undercut the credibility of the apparent “leak” and shifted the focus from a straightforward spoiler to a wider publishing blunder. France Football later said the articles had been prepared in advance for multiple nominees and were posted by mistake, insisting they did not indicate the final rankings. Even so, the Kane page mattered because it set the tone of the pre-ceremony coverage. It pushed Kane’s candidacy to the center of discussion, amplified the sense that he was the man to beat, and prompted reactions such as Mbappé’s notably gracious comment that Kane “deserves it.” By the time Kane was officially announced as the winner, the leak had already made his triumph the dominant storyline, while also adding drama and controversy to one of the most talked-about Ballon d’Or ceremonies in recent years.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Oct 26

Kylian Mbappe said Harry Kane “deserves it” when asked on the red carpet about rumors Kane had won the 2026 Ballon d'Or over him and Lamine Yamal.
Hours before the ceremony, speculation intensified after the Ballon d'Or website briefly published and then deleted an article that appeared to name Kane as the winner.
Mbappe and Kane are both expected to finish in the top 3 after standout seasons for club and country, making the rumored result one of the night's main talking points.
The two also met twice last season — in the Champions League quarterfinals and France's 3rd-place World Cup match against England — adding extra weight to the rivalry around the award.