Lamine Yamal was named the ‘world’s best young player of the year’ as he won the 2024 Kopa Trophy due to his excellent displays for Barcelona and Spain.
The 17-year-old winger was handed the award on Monday after a year in which he established himself as a first-team star at Barcelona and played a key role in Spain’s Euro 2024 success.
Yamal has been handed the trophy for best player under the age of 21, taking the award from last year’s winner and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham. He follows his current Barcelona team-mates Gavi and Pedri in claiming the prize, while Kylian Mbappe and Matthijs de Ligt are the other previous winners.
Yamal beat the likes of Spain and Barcelona co-star Pau Cubarsi, Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, Real Madrid’s Arda Guler, Bayern Munich attacker Mathys Tel and Warren Zaïre-Emery of Paris Saint-Germain, among others to get his hands on the trophy.
