During the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony held in London, the winners of the Copa Trophy, which is awarded to the best player under the age of 21, were announced. Ramin Yamal, a forward who plays for Barcelona and represents the Spanish national team, became the first player in history to win the award three years in a row, marking a new page in the history of the award.
Yamal played 45 games for Barcelona last season, scoring an impressive 24 goals and providing 18 assists. His performance greatly contributed to the two consecutive victories in La Liga and Super Copa de España, and he also served as the mainstay of the Spanish national team at the FIFA World Cup 2026, becoming the driving force that led them to victory for the first time in four tournaments. Yamal, who emerged from Barcelona's youth system, made his senior team debut in April 2023 at the age of 15 years, 9 months and 16 days, breaking a club record. Since then, he has broken the youngest record one after another.
The Copa Trophy was established in 2018 as a ``younger version of the Ballon d'Or'', and in its first year, French national team forward Kylian Mbappé won the award. The 2026 nominations included Barcelona defender Pau Kvarshi, Ivory Coast forward Yann Diomande, who permanently transferred to Real Madrid, and Moroccan national team midfielder Ayyoub Bouadi, who moved to Manchester City.
The final rankings were Yamal in 1st place, Kvarshi in 2nd place and France's Zaire Emery in 3rd place. Germany's Lennart Karl came in 4th place, followed by Diomande in 5th place, Bouadi in 6th place, and representatives from each country came in 7th to 10th place. Looking at previous winners, Yamal won the award in 2024 and 2025, followed by England's Jude Bellingham in 2023, Gabi in 2022 and Pedri in 2021.
Yamal's third consecutive victory shows how much his personal growth and contribution to the team are being evaluated, as young players continue to rise to prominence. All eyes will be on his performance as he leads to further success for Barcelona and the Spanish national team, as well as how the next recipient of the Copa Trophy will be selected.