Real Madrid’s television channel stopped its live coverage of the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony shortly after it became clear that Harry Kane had won the award ahead of Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe.
The ceremony took place on Monday evening at the London Palladium. According to Spanish newspaper Sport, Real Madrid TV ended its broadcast soon after Kane, the Bayern Munich striker, was announced as the winner.
A message appeared on screen saying the content was unavailable because of audiovisual broadcasting rights. However, the timing of the decision to stop showing the ceremony prompted questions among viewers.
Kane was rewarded after an outstanding season in which he scored 73 goals in 65 matches. Of that total, 61 goals came for Bayern Munich, a record that enabled the England international to finish ahead of his rivals and claim football’s leading individual prize.
Mbappe finished second in the voting, while Spain and Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal also secured a prominent position. Yamal won the award for the best young player for a third successive year.
Some observers had believed Mbappe could win the Ballon d’Or, although there had been debate over whether he deserved to take the prize. That discussion centred partly on the fact that he had not won any team honours during the previous season and did not have the highest goals total among the leading contenders.
The decision by Real Madrid TV has attracted particular attention because the channel is one of the main platforms through which the club communicates its views.
In recent times, the broadcaster has also been associated with video segments criticising refereeing performances. Those programmes have drawn objections from other clubs, which argued that the material was being used to put pressure on referees before matches.
Real Madrid has not been sanctioned over those broadcasts.
