Journalist Was Pressured to Change His 2026 Ballon d’Or Vote

As the most prestigious individual award in football, there is always great interest around the Ballon d’Or voting. In 2026, Harry Kane came out on top, beating Kylian Mbappe by just 28 points.

The Bayern Munich star – who scored 78 goals for club and country in 2025/26 – picked up 1055 points. Behind Mbappe, Lamine Yamal finished third, with Rodri fourth and Lionel Messi fifth.

Naturally, there are those who felt as though the final rankings should have played out differently. Two nations didn’t even vote Kane inside their top 10, while Croatian journalist Zdravko Reic has now admitted it was a mistake placing the Englishman down in sixth.

Adding to the intrigue of it all, a Moroccan journalist has now revealed he was pressured to vote against Achraf Hakimi.

Moroccan Journalist Pressured Not To Vote For Hakimi

Peter Cziborra via Reuters

Speaking in an interview with Africafoot, Mustapha Badri has explained that he placed Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco wingback Hakimi first in his rankings. He claimed he was proud to list the Champions League winner so highly, and ‘sincerely’ felt it was fair:

“I’m not going to hide it: my Moroccan identity naturally played a role in my choice. But that absolutely does not mean that my vote lacked sporting arguments. Achraf has never compromised his commitment to Morocco or his decision to defend his country’s colours. His statistics, performances and influence on the pitch allow me to fully stand by my decision. I am proud to have placed him first, because I sincerely believe that he deserved to be elected the best player of the year.”

However, the Moroccan journalist revealed that he was contacted by unnamed people, who looked to pressure him into changing his vote right at the last minute. Badri said:

Hakimi ended up finishing 13th on the list, the highest of any African player in the 2026 Ballon d’Or rankings, although PSG teammates Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, and Fabian Ruiz were ahead of him, all making it into the top 10.

Seperate Investigation Launched Into Ballon d’Or Betting

Action Images via REUTERS

This isn’t the only controversy to emerge from the awards, as there has since been an investigation into suspicious betting on the final rankings. French outlet Upside identified 12 accounts on Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market, that wagered more than $264,000 (about £197,000) on the outcome before the ceremony.

This alone isn’t necessarily noteworthy, but the accounts all piled into one precise scenario, as they correctly bet upon the top five: Kane first, Mbappé second, Yamal third, Rodri fourth and Messi fifth.

Every position matched the official result, generating close to $200,000 (£149,000) in profit. What’s more, all 12 accounts were created between October 1 and 20, with seven having never placed a bet on any other market, whilst six placed their first wager within 15 minutes of registering.

An investigation has now been opened, with police looking into the matter.