KOPA TROPHY 2026: MESSI'S FIRST PREFERENCE IS LAMINE YAMAL

When looking at the official data and detailed voting breakdowns shared by France Football magazine, Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, accepted as one of the greatest legends of world football history ever, sat on the agenda of the sports public with the remarkable preferences he made in the Kopa Trophy 2026 award given to honor young talents. The talented legend, continuing his football career with the jersey of Inter Miami from the United States teams, gave a highly strong support to promising star candidates by taking place in the special jury created to determine the best young player of the year. According to the shared official documents and voting details, Lionel Messi used his number 1 vote in the prestigious award race and therefore his highest score for winger Lamine Yamal, who creates wonders in the Barcelona team from the Spain La Liga giants and leaves a mark on European football despite his young age yet. The number 2 preference of the Argentine legend became talented center-back Pau Cubarsi, who is again from the Barcelona infrastructure and from the famous La Masia. The number 3 vote of the experienced star went to the young talent named Ibrahim Maza, who started making his name spoken frequently with the successful performance he displays on the Germany stages and is shown among the shining stars of the future. These official selections made revealed once again the unshakable trust and deep loyalty in his heart that the living legend of world football feels especially towards young talents coming out of the legendary La Masia academy where he grew up. Players like Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, who are just in the spring of their careers yet but become giants on the pitch, being supported personally by a massive figure like Lionel Messi aroused a tremendous echo in the Spanish press and the international football community. While these valuable votes of the Argentine star increase the career motivation of young players, it definitely and clearly proved to the whole football world what a high-quality and competitive generation the Kopa Trophy 2026 race hosts.

IMAGE: HÜRRİYET