Ballon d'Or 2026: Website Glitch Briefly Names Kane Winner in London
The Ballon d'Or 2026 ceremony in London experienced a technical glitch when the official website briefly displayed Harry Kane as the winner, though identical pages for Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé were also found, suggesting prepared pages were accidentally published. The ceremony at the Palladium Theatre began with early rankings, placing Bayern Munich's Dayot Upamecano 26th and Luis Diaz 24th, while Jude Bellingham finished 11th. Bookmakers list Kane as favorite ahead of Yamal and Mbappé, with the main awards scheduled for 9 PM. Lionel Messi will not attend, and Bayern's Max Eberl is absent due to illness. Klara Bühl finished 12th in the women's award, while Pau Cubarsí's absence sparked speculation about Yamal's chances for the Kopa Trophy.