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France Football Delays Ballon d’Or After Kane Premature Profile

By Drooid · Oct 27, 2026, 6:05 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

France Football Premature Publish

France Football published a premature profile at 17:15 GMT claiming Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
Similar early pages appeared for Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Alexia Putellas and Ewa Pajor, indicating a systematic error.
France Football’s spokesperson said all nominee articles were prepared in advance and unintentionally published, not reflecting final results.
By 17:40 GMT the pages were removed, prompting widespread online speculation and confusion reported by BBC Sport.

Summary

Harry Kane Wins Ballon

Harry Kane won the men’s Ballon d’Or, becoming the first English winner since 2001.
He scored 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England in the 2025-26 season.
His 61 goals in 51 Bayern matches helped secure a Bundesliga and German Cup double.
He scored six World Cup goals, becoming England’s all-time tournament scorer and helping secure third place.

Summary

Kane Validates Transfer

Harry Kane won the Ballon d’Or, the first Bayern player since 1981.
His €100 million Bayern transfer is now fully vindicated, boosting the club’s recruitment reputation.
The win is expected to lift Bayern’s current and future commercial earnings.
Wembley lit its arches in gold on Monday night to honour Kane’s award.
The ceremony was delayed 45 minutes after a premature online profile of Kane was posted and deleted.

History

Historical Context

In December 2001 France Football announced Michael Owen as Ballon d’Or winner, the first English champion since Kevin Keegan in 1979, with 173 points ahead of Luís Figo’s 162. The premature online list sparked a shift toward tighter digital controls, a lesson echoed today as France Football’s early Harry Kane post repeats the 2001 mishap and forced publishers to verify data before release.

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France Football Premature Publish

France Football published a premature profile at 17:15 GMT claiming Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
Similar early pages appeared for Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Alexia Putellas and Ewa Pajor, indicating a systematic error.
France Football’s spokesperson said all nominee articles were prepared in advance and unintentionally published, not reflecting final results.
By 17:40 GMT the pages were removed, prompting widespread online speculation and confusion reported by BBC Sport.

1 / 4