Despite his best efforts, it wasn’t to be for Lamine Yamal. The 2026 Ballon d’Or has gone to Harry Kane, who has written his name in the all-time winners list. All hope isn’t lost, though. Yamal, who won the 2026 Kopa Trophy for a third consecutive time, can hold his head high as not even Lionel Messi could win the Ballon d’Or at the age of 19.
Messi first won the Ballon d’Or in December 2009, coming off his tremendous 2008-09 season with Barcelona, in which he won LaLiga, UEFA Champions League, and Copa del Rey. It was the first time Barca won all three tournaments in a single season—the first of many.
At the time, Messi was 22 years old, three years older than Yamal currently is, which means he could still beat Messi to the award. In fact, Yamal could beat everyone to it.
Yamal can still break a Ballon d’Or record
Although Yamal came up short of becoming the youngest player to win the Ballon d’Or, he can still break that record. Ronaldo Nazario owns the milestone, as he won the Ballon d’Or at 21 in 1997. Nazario won the Ballon d’Or twice and was who handed this year’s winner the award.
Lamine Yamal attends the 70th Ballon D’Or Ceremony at Palladium Theatre in London, England.
Had Yamal won, it would’ve been a special moment, with the former youngest winner handing the honor to the new record-setter. However, it wasn’t to be. Yamal will have another shot next year, and could have yet another one in 2028, depending on the date chosen to host the gala two years from now.
When Messi won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009, he had won three championships with Barcelona the season prior. Yamal did win LaLiga and Supercopa, but his Barca side came up short in the UEFA Champions League. Yamal makes up for that with the 2026 World Cup win, even though he didn’t have the biggest of impacts in soccer’s biggest tournament.
Yamal had a memorable season
At the end of the day, Lamine still conquered LaLiga and the FIFA World Cup at just 19. Make no mistake, though: this is only the beginning, and soccer fans all across the globe should prepare for Yamal-Messi debates to become common currency.
Lamine Yamal couldn’t win his first Ballon d’Or by the age of 19, but neither could Lionel Messi, so he’s still in contention to become the next Messi. However, his goal is to be the first Lamine Yamal, and he’s doing a great job of it for the time being.
Key takeaways
- Lionel Messi won his first Ballon d’Or at the age of 22.
- Lamine Yamal missed out on winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or at age 19.
- Ronaldo Nazario won the 1997 Ballon d’Or at 21, remaining the youngest recipient.
