AI video imagines Mbappé stealing 2026 Ballon d'Or from Lamine Yamal in wild chase

A nearly three-minute video generated by artificial intelligence Blue Horizon has been circulating massively on social media since Monday evening, less than two weeks before the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, scheduled for October 26 in London. The sequence imagines a chase involving several of the world’s biggest football stars around the trophy won by Ousmane Dembélé in 2025.

The scene begins in the London ceremony hall, where Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are gathered. Vinicius Jr, meanwhile, is denied entry — a reference to the theory circulating on social media that the Real Madrid striker has been replaced by a lookalike, fueled by his supposed physical changes and performances deemed disappointing early in the season.

As the announcement of the winner seems imminent, someone seizes the trophy and flees. Dembélé, Michael Olise, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane chase after him. Bellingham loses precious seconds for a selfie with a fan, while Haaland climbs onto the back of a motorcycle to try to catch the fugitive.

The thief is finally identified: it is Kylian Mbappé. Dembélé, about to catch him, crashes into a pole. Jack Grealish, emerging from a bar, trips the France captain. The trophy falls to the ground, Haaland grabs it, before being overtaken by Lamine Yamal appearing on horseback. Harry Kane’s race is stopped by a bus driven by Lionel Messi.

The video ends with a face-off between Mbappé — picked up on horseback by his France teammate Michael Olise — and Lamine Yamal, who keeps the trophy. This imaginary duel reflects reality in the odds: according to bookmakers, Kane holds a strong position, but Yamal and Mbappé complete the top three, and the two players have spoken more publicly about their ambitions. The young Barcelona player had even presented the two men as the main rivals for the title.