Spanish forward Lamine Yamal, 19, has been awarded the Kopa Trophy for the third consecutive year, given to the world's best young player under 21, infohub.kz reports.
The ceremony took place at London's Palladium theatre as part of the Ballon d'Or awards. Yamal received the trophy from legendary Ukrainian footballer Andriy Shevchenko.
The winner was determined on the basis of last season, 2025/26. With Barcelona, Yamal won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup, and with the Spain national team he won the World Cup.
Over the past season, the forward played 57 matches at club and international level, scoring 25 goals and providing 20 assists.
Yamal also won the Kopa Trophy in each of the previous two years. No player had previously won the award three times in a row.
The other four nominees in the Kopa Trophy top five were Spanish defender Pau Cubarsí of Barcelona, French midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery of PSG, German midfielder Lennart Karl of Bayern Munich and Ivorian forward Yan Diomande, who spent the season at RB Leipzig before moving to Real Madrid.
The equivalent women's award went to 20-year-old Vicky López for the second year running. She plays as an attacking midfielder for Barcelona and the Spain national team.