Suspicious betting on Ballon d'Or: top five predicted exactly

France Football has opened an investigation into suspicious betting on the Ballon d'Or after twelve accounts predicted the top five correctly, wagering €246,000 total.

Harry Kane won the Ballon d'Or for Player of the Year on Monday, beating Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi. Days before the result was announced, twelve accounts on the cryptocurrency betting platform Polymarket predicted the exact top five, wagering over €246,000 and earning nearly €180,000 in total.

Investigative journalists from French outlet Upside discovered the accounts were created between 1 and 20 October, with seven of them betting exclusively on the Ballon d'Or outcome. Upside suspects the accounts may be operated by the same person or group.

France Football has shared the findings with police after being contacted by Upside. Former editor-in-chief Pascal Ferré previously stated that only a very limited number of people knew the result in advance. It remains unclear whether the result was actually leaked or if the bettors possessed inside information.