The secret of the Ballon d’Or winner remains tightly guarded, but past leaks have raised questions about betrayal inside France Football.
Keeping the winner's name secret
Keeping the winner's name secret can sometimes be very complicated, as Pascal Ferré recounts in his book La face cachée du Ballon d’Or. One week before the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, which will take place on October 26 in London, the suspense remains about the identity of the winner.Maintaining secrecy is challenging
Pascal Ferré, director of the magazine until 2022 and a jury member for seven years, recounts in his book La face cachée du Ballon d’Or that maintaining the suspense has not always been simple. For example, in 2019, the visit made to Lionel Messi to conduct an interview before his sixth of eight wins was discovered despite numerous precautions.A secret operation
After having tricked to travel by plane with the prestigious trophy in a carry-on bag, without raising the suspicions of security agents at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, then evading the curious upon arrival in Catalonia and dodging the guards guarding the house of "La Pulga," the small group from France Football thought they had done the hardest part.The leak occurs
His visit to the Argentine forward, however, very quickly leaked. « Hardly had the interview begun when a wave of panic already swept through the room. Marcelo Méndez (Messi's agent, note by the editor) had just received an alert from a Spanish media outlet on his smartphone, revealing in real time our presence at Leo Messi's house », writes Pascal Ferré in his book.Investigating the leak
« In such a case, obviously, everyone looks at each other from the corner of their eye. Who spoke? Where did the information come from? And especially, who could have an interest in leaking it? », he continues. « As the information is not accompanied by stolen photos to confirm it, we rule out the airport and possible carelessness. As well as, obviously, the Messi camp. »A lingering mystery
Nine years later, « the mystery remains on this disturbing coincidence, officially at least », adds the journalist, who fears he may have been betrayed by a mole within FF: « It is possible that some malice and compromises came from an unbelievable chain of complicity, originating from our internal travel services. »No leaks yet for 2026
« A person will be summoned, but will never confess », he reveals. For this 70th edition of the Ballon d’Or, no reliable information seems to have leaked so far. Even though the awarding of the trophy by Lionel Messi, announced in recent days by journalist Juan Jesus, suggests that his successor at Barça, Lamine Yamal, could be the lucky winner.
