Kane and Putellas win Ballon d'Or as ceremony booed over ad breaks

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Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas were crowned the 2026 Ballon d'Or winners at a ceremony in London that was marred by crowd boos over excessive commercial breaks. The event at the London Palladium drew widespread criticism from fans and attendees for its lengthy pauses. The three-hour ceremony featured a break after nearly every award, prompting loud jeers from the audience each time presenter Kate Scott announced an intermission. Kane scored 73 goals for club and country, becoming the first Englishman to win since Michael Owen in 2001, while Putellas claimed her third title after wins in 2021 and 2022. The ceremony followed an earlier incident where the Ballon d'Or official website accidentally published victory articles for multiple nominees, including Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Lamine Yamal. Organizers admitted the profiles were "inadvertently published" and did not indicate final results.


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