Who are the 3 players Lionel Messi voted for in race to win 2025 Kopa Trophy won by Lamine Yamal?

Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi voted for eventual Kopa Trophy winner Lamine Yamal. The 18-year-old became the first in the award's history to win it in consecutive years.

Yamal was one of the contenders for the Ballon d'Or this year, which eventually went to Paris Saint-Germain attacker Ousmane Dembele. The 28-year-old Frenchman helped PSG to a historic continental quadruple and the FIFA Club World Cup final, plundering 35 goals and 16 assists in 53 games across competitions.

Although Lamine Yamal couldn't become the youngest ever Ballon d'Or winner, the youngster produced a spectacular season of his own for Barcelona, who won the domestic treble and lost on penalties to Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

As revealed by Tribuna, Messi's first vote for the 2025 Kopa Trophy had gone to Yamal, with his next two going for PSG youngster Desire Doue and Barca's Pau Cubarsi. Doue did indeed finish second in the eventual standings, while Cubarsi ended seventh, behind Yamal, Doue, Joao Neves, Estevao, Kenan Yildiz and Dean Huijsen.

While Yamal fell short in the Ballon d'Or race (by 321 votes to Dembele), the Spanish teenager was a dominant winner of the Kopa Trophy, receiving a whopping 24 of 27 nominations from former Ballon d'Or winners, including Messi.

As per Barca Universal, the three who didn't vote for Yamal in first place were Roberto Baggio (1993), Ruud Gullit (1987) and Pavel Nedved (2003). While Baggio placed Lamine Yamal in third and Nedved second, Gullit didn't include the Spaniard in his top three.

It's pertinent to note that five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin Keegan (1978-79) and Michel Platini (1983-85) didn't cast their votes for this year's Kopa winner.

How have Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal fared this season?

Lionel Messi is in the midst of a solid third full season with MLS side Inter Miami. The 38-year-old has amassed 32 goals and 14 assists in 38 games across competitions.

Most of those goal contributions - 24 goals and 11 assists in 23 games - have come in MLS, where the Herons are third in the Eastern Conference, five points behind leaders Philadelphia but with two games in hand.

Meanwhile, Yamal has two goals and three assists in three outings across competitions this campaign for Barcelona. All of those goal contributions have come in La Liga, where Hansi Flick's defending champions trail leaders Real Madrid (18) by two points after six games.

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Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Bhargav