Ballon d'Or website publishes three different winners hours before ceremony
Hours before the Ballon d'Or ceremony in London, the event's official website published three different winners in separate articles, causing confusion. Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, and Lamine Yamal were each named as the award's recipient. The Daily Mail reported the error at 5:23 PM local time, prompting urgent meetings and phone calls among organizers. Articles naming Kane and Mbappé were removed first, while the Yamal piece remained online for over half an hour before being taken down. The Yamal article described the Barcelona star as the youngest Ballon d'Or winner ever, while the other pieces praised Kane and Mbappé's recent performances. The cause of the premature publications remains unknown, with the official winner set to be announced at the ceremony Monday evening.