FIFA accidentally names Messi 2015 Ballon d’Or winner

Leaked documents making the rounds on social media suggest that Lionel Messi is the winner of next week’s Ballon d’Or gala.
The shocking revelation set social media on fire as Lionel Messi’s name allegedly appeared on FIFA’s website in an official-looking document.
The news came from a tweet from Dutch journalist, Michael Abbink, who works for NU Sport.
In the tweet, Abbink seemed to have discovered a press release by FIFA declaring Messi the winner of Ballon d’Or and Germany’s Celia Sasic as the winner of the Women’s World Player of the Year award.
The leaked announcement was first posted by Voetbal Primeur, who claimed that it was leaked from European Sports Media, a company that regularly organizes award ceremonies.
Upon noticing the mistake, ESM deleted the image from their website and released a statement that read: “Due to a technical problem at transmission, Lionel Messi and Celia Sasic were listed as FIFA Ballon d’Or winners 2015.”
They added: “Actually, they (Messi and Sasic) won the awards UEFA Best Player in Europe 2015 respectively. UEFA Best Women’s Player in Europe 2015. We apologize for this mistake.”
FIFA also distanced itself from the leaked document and claimed it was a recap of an article from November last year.
The world football governing body also added that the winner of the 2015 Ballon d’Or will be officially announced on January 11, 2016.
Regardless of the apology from ESM and clarification by FIFA, the leaked document had already created a storm on social media.
The Argentina and Barcelona forward will win his fifth Ballon d’Or on January 11, 2015 if he floors his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, and teammate, Neymar Jr.