French police investigate alleged leaks over 2026 Ballon d’Or voting

French police have opened an investigation into suspected manipulation and the leaking of confidential information linked to the results of the 2026 Ballon d’Or.

Reports say 12 accounts on a prediction platform correctly identified the final order of the top five players in the award standings. They selected England captain Harry Kane first, followed by France forward Kylian Mbappe, Spain international Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

According to Tribuna, the accounts made almost €200,000 in net winnings. The accuracy of their predictions has led investigators to examine whether those behind the accounts had access to information about the results before they were officially announced.

France Football, which organises the award, was informed of the allegations and has filed an official complaint. An internal investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the relevant French police unit.

The focus of the inquiry is whether confidential information from the voting process was misused. Investigators are particularly interested in the fact that all 12 accounts predicted not only the identities of the five leading players but also their exact finishing order.

The investigation follows another incident that caused controversy on the night of the ceremony. The official Ballon d’Or website mistakenly published articles announcing some nominees as winners several hours before the event began at the London Palladium.

That error renewed questions over the safeguards in place to protect the results and prevent them being leaked before the official announcement. The vote is decided by a closed committee several days before the ceremony takes place.

France Football said the integrity of the award was its highest priority and insisted that the winner is chosen through an independent vote.

A spokesperson for the magazine said: “The integrity of the Ballon d’Or is an absolute priority for France Football. We confirm that the winner is selected through an independent vote, and we take allegations concerning leaked results extremely seriously.”