Although Lamine Yamal fell just short of the Ballon d’Or, finishing second, the Barcelona prodigy still made history by successfully defending the Kopa Trophy for a second consecutive year.
The award, which recognizes the best Under-21 footballer in the world, is voted on exclusively by former Ballon d’Or winners. Yamal, still just a teenager, reaffirmed his place as the standout talent of his generation with a landslide victory.
According to Mundo Deportivo, France Football’s breakdown of the votes revealed just how dominant Barcelona wonderkid’s win was. Out of 27 voters, 24 placed him first, giving him a total of 124 out of 135 possible points. This was even higher than the 113 points he collected when he won the award in 2024.
Yet, not everyone was fully convinced. Three legends broke from the consensus:
- Roberto Baggio ranked Yamal only third, behind Desire Doue and Joao Neves.
- Pavel Nedved put him second, with Doue ahead of him and Kenan Yildiz in third.
- Most surprisingly, Ruud Gullit left Yamal out of his podium entirely, opting instead for Doue, Dean Huijsen, and Pau Cubarsi.
Aside from those exceptions, the rest of the jury, which included legends such as Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Ronaldinho, and Zinedine Zidane, unanimously ranked Yamal as their No. 1 choice.
France Football also confirmed that three former Ballon d’Or winners, Kevin Keegan, Michel Platini, and Cristiano Ronaldo, did not submit votes.
For Yamal, however, the outcome was clear: although he missed out on the Ballon d’Or, he has once again cemented his status as the world’s most outstanding young footballer.
