In recent days, there have been several fake leaks on the identity of the Ballon d'Or winner, particularly on X (fake screenshots of WhatsApp conversations with France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia, photos of sheets of paper showing the rankings, with Kylian Mbappé supposedly topping the list in some and Harry Kane in others) - “It's impossible. But it's part of the usual folklore,” a source said
At the moment, only around five people know the winner
• Pascal Ferré, former head of the Ballon d’Or, told @RMCsport:
"Since 2024, the winners have no longer been informed of their fate before the ceremony, and all nominees are treated equally. When they arrive at the venue in London, none of them will be able to raise their arms in celebration before the others, because they won’t know the result. We changed the rules after the Messi and Ronaldo era. To make it easier to keep the result secret, it was decided that the winner’s name would remain undisclosed until the very end"
"How do you keep the winner’s identity a secret? I think the best-kept secret is one that is shared with as few people as possible. Then there are a few tricks and little ploys. My own trick was to leave fake rankings lying around the France Football newsroom to fuel speculation on social media, which always made me smile. At the moment, there can’t be more than five people who know the winner’s name."
[@ArthurPerrot]