Yamal wins third consecutive Kopa Trophy and pays tribute to Cubarsí

Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy for the third consecutive year on Monday evening at the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony, held in London. The 17-year-old FC Barcelona prodigy prevailed over nine other candidates, including Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG), Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen) and his teammate Pau Cubarsí.

On stage, Yamal first thanked his club and the Spanish national team before surprising the audience by advocating for his defensive partner: “Pau Cubarsí would have deserved to win this trophy, because he has been performing at the highest level for years now and doing incredible things.”

Thierry Henry, master of ceremonies for the evening, seized the opportunity to tease the Spanish international, mischievously asking him if the Kopa Trophy was indeed the trophy he dreamed of winning that night. The room laughed, as did Yamal, before responding diplomatically: “I want all the trophies… but this one, I would have liked it to go to Pau Cubarsí.”

The Kopa Trophy, created in 2018 in tribute to French legend Raymond Kopa, rewards the best player under 21 years old each year according to a vote by former Ballon d’Or winners. Yamal thus becomes the first player to win the award three times in a row since its inception.