A secret known to only 5 people: why is the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or being kept under wraps?

Unexpected hype has erupted around the 2026 Ballon d'Or award by France Football, the most prestigious individual accolade in world football. Various "leaked" reports in the media and social networks about a specific star player winning have sparked fierce debates among fans.

However, according to RMC Sport, these reports are completely untrue: right now, only 5 people across the entire world know who the winner of the award is.

A new kind of intrigue: Why are the nominees themselves kept in the dark?

Former France Football editor-in-chief Pascal Ferre commented on the matter, revealing the reasons behind fundamental changes made to the voting and award ceremony procedures:

• Nobody knows until the ceremony: Starting from 2024, winners receive no information about the results prior to the start of the gala event. All nominees arrive at the venue under identical conditions and in equal uncertainty;

• Equal conditions in London: "When they arrive at the hall in London, none of them can raise their hand ahead of others because no one knows the result," Ferre emphasized;

• Eliminating the risk of leaks: The fact that only a handful of organizers know the results in advance and that this information is kept secret until the very last moment serves to put an end to various false insights.

"After the era of Messi and Ronaldo, we changed the rules"

For many years, the football community would find out who would win the award several days or even weeks before the ceremony. The organizers decided to put an end to this tradition:

• Preserving the intrigue: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's long-standing dominance has come to an end, leading to a complete overhaul of the awarding rules. Now, the main goal is to maintain genuine emotional moments and suspense until the very end;

• The secrecy mechanism: According to Pascal Ferre, to make it easier to keep the winner's name a secret and maximize interest in the ceremony, the winner's name is kept under wraps until the envelope is opened on stage.

This magnificent accolade for the player of the year maintains high intrigue until it is handed over to its true owner.