Lamine Yamal made Ballon d'Or history at the London Palladium on Monday night, winning the Kopa Trophy for a third straight year — and then used his acceptance speech to argue that his Barcelona and Spain team-mate Pau Cubarsi should have won it instead.
The 19-year-old was named men's young talent of the year for 2026, adding to the Kopa Trophies he collected in 2024 and 2025. No player had previously won the award, introduced in 2018 for the world's best under-21 player, more than once. Yamal has now won it three times before his 20th birthday.
The award, presented by 2004 Ballon d'Or winner Andriy Shevchenko and tracked live by NBC Sports, recognises a season in which Yamal helped Barcelona retain La Liga and win the Spanish Super Cup, then lifted the World Cup with Spain in North America. He finished runner-up in the main Ballon d'Or vote in 2025 and arrived in London as one of the three favourites for the top prize.
"This prize should have been for him"
What turned a coronation into the moment of the night was what Yamal said on stage. As reported by SportBible, the teenager told the audience: "I would have liked Pau Cubarsi, our team-mate, to be here, because I think this prize should have been for him. He deserved it. He's been playing at an exceptional level and I wish he'd have won this tonight."
Cubarsi, Barcelona's 19-year-old centre-back, was himself a Kopa nominee and finished 12th in the main Ballon d'Or rankings revealed earlier on Monday — the highest-placed defender in the entire vote. Yamal added: "This is my third year of being here for this prize, and I'm very grateful. I'd like to thank my club, my national team, and everybody, and I'd like to continue working to win these collective and individual prizes."
Asked by co-host Thierry Henry whether the Kopa was the one he really wanted, Yamal laughed and replied: "All of them!" — a line that drew a visibly surprised "Wow! Very nice" from Henry and a wave of praise online for a speech that put a team-mate ahead of himself.
Spain sweep the early awards
Yamal's win opened a Spanish sweep of the ceremony's early honours, a fitting pattern in the year Spain won the World Cup. Barcelona's Vicky Lopez took the women's young talent award for the second straight year, Barcelona's Pere Romeu was named women's coach of the year, and Spain's World Cup-winning boss Luis de la Fuente claimed the men's coach prize.
The goalkeeping awards stayed in Spain too. Barcelona's Cata Coll won the women's Yashin Trophy for the first time, while Athletic Club's Unai Simon — Spain's World Cup-winning number one — took the men's goalkeeper honour. Between Barcelona and the national team, Spanish football collected every award handed out in the ceremony's first hour.
So what: the big one is still to come
The Kopa hat-trick settles the young-player argument, but it is not the prize Yamal travelled to London for. He remains in the final 10 for the men's Ballon d'Or itself, alongside Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe — the same three names caught up in Monday afternoon's leak, when the award's own website briefly published winner articles for all three before deleting them.
If Yamal wins the main award later on Monday night, at 19 he would smash the record for the youngest Ballon d'Or winner, held since 1997 by Ronaldo Nazario, who was 21 years and 92 days old. Kane, the favourite after a 73-goal year for Bayern Munich and England, and Mbappe stand in his way.
Beyond the Final Whistle: A player who wins the young-player award three years running has outgrown the young-player award — and Yamal knows it, which is why his first instinct on stage was to hand the credit to a defender the voters ranked 12th in the world. That maturity, on top of a World Cup and another La Liga title at 19, is exactly why the main trophy may not be far away, whether it arrives tonight or next year. Was Yamal right that Cubarsi deserved the Kopa more — and should the teenager win the Ballon d'Or itself? Tell us in the comments.
