Sports · Football · 5 hrs ago
Ballon d’Or video mistakenly showed Michael Rummenigge instead of Karl-Heinz
At the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony in London, an official video showed the wrong Rummenigge brother.
It was meant to feature Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who won the award in 1980 and 1981, but showed a match scene involving his younger brother Michael.
Michael played for Bayern Munich from 1981 to 1988, while Karl-Heinz had already left the club for Inter Milan by the time of the match shown.
The video was part of a presentation of players who had won the award more than once, ahead of Harry Kane receiving the 2026 prize.
The ceremony organisers apologised to Bayern after the mix-up.
The mistake matters because the video misidentified a player at an event celebrating the award’s past winners.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge praised Kane’s win and said it was a success for Bayern and the Bundesliga.
A Ballon d’Or gala video showed Michael Rummenigge instead of his brother Karl-Heinz, one of the award’s multiple winners.
The footage showed Michael playing for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid in April 1987.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge won the Ballon d’Or in 1980 and 1981.
The organizers later apologized to Bayern, according to headlines published by sport.de and fussballdaten.de.
- Who
- The Ballon d’Or organizers showed Michael Rummenigge instead of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
- What
- A video about multiple Ballon d’Or winners included a match scene featuring the wrong Rummenigge brother.
- When
- At the gala on Monday evening; the sources do not give the date of the event.
- Where
- The gala was held at the London Palladium in London.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge won the Ballon d’Or.
Michael Rummenigge played for Bayern against Real Madrid in the scene used in the video.
The gala video showed Michael instead of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
The organizers apologized to Bayern, according to the headlines of sport.de and fussballdaten.de.
- Award years
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge won in 1980 and 1981
- Video scene
- Michael Rummenigge against Real Madrid
- Match date
- April 1987
- Match result
- Bayern won 4-1
- Gala venue
- London Palladium, London
3 sources
What people are saying
Harry Kane ist der absolut verdiente Ballon d'Or-Sieger und ich freue mich von Herzen für ihn.