Teen sensation Yamal claims second straight Kopa Crown

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

In a night pulsing with football’s glittering promise, Lamine Yamal, the 18-year-old Barcelona wunderkind, etched his name deeper into the sport’s lore by clinching the 2025 Kopa Trophy, the prestigious accolade for the world’s best performer under 21.

Announced on Monday evening during the opulent Ballon d’Or ceremony at Théâtre du Châtelet, the victory marks Yamal’s second consecutive win in the category, following his 2024 haul and cements his status as the heir apparent to a generation of Spanish maestros.

Yamal, who turned 18 just months ago, received the trophy from a jury of past Ballon d’Or laureates, including luminaries like Lionel Messi and Luka Modrić.

His breakthrough 2024-25 season-a whirlwind of audacious dribbles, pinpoint assists, and clutch goals, propelled him to the forefront of the nominees, outshining rivals like Paris Saint-Germain’s Warren Zaïre-Emery and Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri.

“This is for everyone who believed in me when I was just a kid from Rocafonda,” Yamal said in his acceptance speech, his voice steady amid the roar of applause.

The award, named after French icon Raymond Kopa—the 1958 Ballon d’Or winner-has now been claimed by three Barcelona talents in its brief history: Pedri (2021), Gavi (2022), and Yamal himself, a testament to La Masia’s unyielding pipeline of genius.

The 2024 edition saw Yamal, then a mere 17-year-old sensation, dominate with five goals and seven assists in La Liga before dazzling at UEFA EURO 2024, where his semi-final thunderbolt against France, curled exquisitely into the top corner, became an instant viral icon, amassing millions of views and earning him the tournament’s Goal of the Tournament and Best Young Player honours.

Fast-forward to 2025, and under new Barcelona boss Hansi Flick, Yamal has elevated his game further: six goals and five assists in the early La Liga and Champions League campaigns, including a sublime strike in El Clásico that contributed to a humiliating 4-0 rout of Real Madrid.

Yet, as the evening’s first major reveal, Yamal’s Kopa win sets the stage for tantalizing what-ifs. Will this be his sole silverware under the Châtelet’s chandeliers, or could the youngster crash the senior Ballon d’Or podium?

Last year, he became the youngest-ever top-10 finisher in the men’s Ballon d’Or rankings, a feat that whispers of greater conquests.

With Spain’s Nations League campaign underway and Barcelona chasing a treble, whispers of a 2026 Ballon d’Or tilt—potentially eclipsing even Rodri’s 2024 triumph—grow louder

. “The Kopa is special, but the Ballon d’Or? That’s the dream,” Yamal admitted post-ceremony, his eyes gleaming with the quiet fire of youth unbound.