It’s him again: Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is the 2025 Kopa Trophy winner!
Barcelona’s teenage starlet Lamine Yamal became the first player in the short history of the Kopa Trophy to retain the award in Paris on Monday.
After collecting the prize dolled out to the best-performing male player under the age of 21 in 2024 following a triumphant year with Spain at the European Championships, Yamal scaled even greater heights last term.
The creative hub of Hansi Flick’s reinvigorated Barcelona side led the Catalans to a domestic treble, scooping up La Liga, the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup all at the expense of fierce rivals Real Madrid.
Lamine Yamal’s 2024-25 season
A transition from promising youngster to a cornerstone for both Barcelona and Spain:
this is what Yamal’s past year entailed.
The winger ended the campaign with 53 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions, scoring 18 goals and providing 21 assists.
These numbers alone underscore a rare maturity: with nearly 4,400 minutes on the pitch (4,368), he showed he could deliver consistently, rather than in flashes.
Yamal helped guide Barcelona to a domestic treble, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup. In La Liga specifically, his attacking output — nine goals and thirteen assists — placed him among the most creative players in the league. His presence as a starter week in, week out, under coach Hansi Flick reinforced the faith the club placed in him.
His Champions League season was similarly impressive: in 13 matches, Yamal scored 5 goals and added 3 assists. He also broke records, becoming the youngest player to both score and assist in a Champions League match in the Round of 16 against Benfica. In the same competition, he became the youngest Barcelona player ever to reach 100 competitive appearances, a milestone celebrated during the first leg of the semifinals against Inter Milan.
On the international front, Yamal’s impact in UEFA Euro 2024 carried into the club season. As part of Spain’s Euro-winning squad, he had already made waves: starting matches at just 16, becoming the youngest scorer in the knockout stages, and helping Spain win the final against England.
Some of his standout moments included scoring in El Clásico to become the youngest player ever to do so in that fixture (at just over 17 years old), scoring in key La Liga matches, and producing decisive plays in tight games
Beyond raw numbers, it was Yamal’s consistency and influence in high-stakes matches that made this season special. The 2024-25 season established him not just as a rising star but as a player already carrying the weight of expectation and delivering.
In all, it was a defining campaign where Lamine Yamal didn’t merely build on promise, but converted it into impact and history.
