It's official. France Football magazine has revealed the list of the 10 nominees for the men's 2025 Kopa Trophy and the five for the women's. An award that distinguishes the best under-21 talents of the season, evaluating the following criteria:
- Individual and collective performances
- Player class (talent and fair play)
- Ability to compete over time
This Ballon d'Or edition will be the 69th in its history. However, the Kopa Trophy does not have the same history, as it began to be awarded in 2018. Since then, a total of six players have won this award.
📌 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE MEN'S KOPA TROPHY:
- 2018 – Kylian Mbappé (France, PSG)
- 2019 – Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands, Ajax/Juventus)
- 2021 – Pedri (Spain, FC Barcelona) (not awarded in 2020 due to the pandemic)
- 2022 – Gavi (Spain, FC Barcelona)
- 2023 – Jude Bellingham (England, Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid)
- 2024 – Lamine Yamal (Spain, FC Barcelona)
Cubarsí and Lamine Yamal lead the Barça presence in the Kopa Trophy
In the men's section, the presence of several representatives from FC Barcelona stands out, including Lamine Yamal, current holder of the trophy, about whom opinions are divided as to whether or not he can win the award again.
From some sectors it is assured that —as happens with the Golden Boy of Tuttosport—, once a player wins it, they cannot repeat, from others it is defended that no regulation expressly prohibits the possibility of lifting the prize on more than one occasion. The main argument: Lamine still meets the requirements, as he is still under 21.
It would be an extraordinary situation, since never before has a player achieved a back to back in this recognition.
While an official voice does not pronounce on the matter, all eyes are now on another proper name of the Azulgrana team: Pau Cubarsí, one of the great favorites to maintain the Azulgrana dominance in what concerns this prestigious award.
- 📌 THE DATA: The 2025 Kopa Trophy will be awarded on September 22 at the iconic Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
Along with the Catalan defender, the list of nominees is completed with several emerging talents from European football. Paris Saint-Germain, considered by many to be the best team of the year, has managed to include two of its jewels: the midfielder João Neves and the attacker Desire Doué, another strong candidate to take the recognition.
Below, the complete list of nominees for the 2025 Kopa Trophy:
- Pau Cubarsí (FC Barcelona / Spain)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille / France)
- Desiré Doué (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
- Estevão (Palmeiras-Chelsea / Brazil)
- Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth-Real Madrid / Spain)
- Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal / England)
- Rodrigo Mora (Porto / Portugal)
- João Neves (PSG / Portugal)
- Lamine Yamal (Barça / Spain)
- Kenan Yildiz (Juventus / Turkey)
Vicky López, the only Azulgrana representative in the women's branch
In the women's category, there are five candidates for the award, among which is also a player from the Azulgrana squad. It is Vicky López, a young promise of FC Barcelona, who will seek to become the first winner of the women's Kopa Trophy in history.
Her presence among the candidates is not surprising, especially after the great season signed. Even so, it will not be easy, she will have to compete with names like:
- Michelle Agyemang (Arsenal / England)
- Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid / Colombia)
- Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea / Netherlands)
- Claudia Martínez Ovando (Olimpia / Paraguay)