Ballon d’Or organisers explain mistaken winner reports published before ceremony

The Ballon d’Or organising committee has said articles naming Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal as winners were published online by mistake, just hours before the awards ceremony was due to begin.

The official Ballon d’Or website posted three separate pieces, with each article stating that one of the three nominees had won the award.

In a statement, the organisers said: “Introductory reports about some of the Ballon d’Or nominees, prepared by the award’s website, were mistakenly published online. These articles had been written in advance for each nominee in case they won the award.”

The committee added that the reports should not be interpreted as revealing the final positions.

“These articles in no way disclose the order of the top three, which remains unknown to everyone at this time,” the statement said.