Kopa Trophy started in 2018 as the newest award constituted by France Football to identify the most impressive young players under 21 years old. This European-based only award was named after the former France footballer and Ballon d’Or winner Raymond Kopa. The association football presents this relatively new award just around the Ballon d’Or to the most outstanding young players in the world. Every year tremendous amount of players burst onto the football field to gain fame but only a selected few individuals manage to create an impact. Thus, to celebrate their performance on the big stage and select the best talent of the year this Kopa Trophy was introduced.
The first award was granted in 2018 to the young and talented footballer Kylian Mbappe who set a high bar for future winners. The voting is done by the former Ballon d’Or award winners which makes the award different from other youth football awards. Such a voting system guarantees that winners are elected by the elite making the award credible.
It has thereby effectively formed a part of the prompt identification of future talent, where many of these winners including the aforementioned Matthijs de Ligt who won it in 2019 and Pedri who won it in 2021 play a pivotal role in both their respective clubs and country outfit today, let alone Gavi who won the award in 2022. The award gala takes place in parallel with the Ballon d’Or ceremony, which links the current football giants with future generations and contributes to the current success of Kopa’s important achievements in French and world football.
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Kopa Trophy Winner 2024
Lamine Yamal created history by breaking the previous record for getting the most votes of Kylian Mbappe 110 votes by 113 votes. He has been in sensational form for Barcelona as well as for Spain. The Spanish international won the UEFA European Championship a few months ago where he performed exceptionally well for his team to his recent performance in El-Classico where they thrashed Real Madrid 4-1.
Many previous Ballon d’Or winners didn’t participate in Kopa Trophy 2024 votes like Denis Law, Kevin Keegan, Michel Platini, Roberto Baggio, George Weah, Zinedine Zidane, and Cristiano Ronaldo. While it remains a surprise why these many legends opted not to cast their vote for Kopa Trophy winners. On the other hand, Lionel Messi’s votes were leaked online only where we can see his top three preferences Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, and Alejandro Garnacho.
From former PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe to current winner Lamine Yamal, let’s take a look at the list of all previous Kopa Trophy winners:
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List of All Kopa Trophy Winners
| YEAR | PLAYER | CLUB | POINTS |
| 2018 | Kylian Mbappe Christian Pulisic Justin Kluivert | Paris Saint-Germain Borussia Dortmund Roma | 110 31 18 |
| 2019 | Matthijs de Ligt Jadon Sancho Joao Felix | Juventus Borussia Dortmund Atletico Madri | 58 49 41 |
| 2020 | COVID | COVID | COVID |
| 2021 | Pedri Jude Bellingham Jamal Musiala | Barcelona Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich | 89 39 38 |
| 2022 | Gavi Eduardo Camavinga Jamal Musiala | Barcelona Real Madrid Bayern Munich | 59 51 47 |
| 2023 | Jude Bellingham Jamal Musiala Pedri | Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich Barcelona | 90 42 33 |
| 2024 | Lamine Yamal Arda Guler Kobbie Mainoo | Barcelona Real Madrid Manchester United | 113 26 20 |
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