Lamine Yamal amazes Thierry Henry with one of the most unforgettable Ballon d’Or speeches.
Lamine Yamal took everyone by surprise, including co-host Thierry Henry, when he said his Kopa Trophy for the best young player at the Ballon d’Or should have gone to a Barcelona teammate instead.
Yamal was announced as the winner at the London Palladium for the third year in a row. But the 19-year-old, also a top candidate for the Ballon d’Or, used most of his speech to dedicate the award to his teammate Pau Cubarsi.
When he went up on stage to receive the prize, Yamal said in Spanish (translated live by DAZN): “Good evening, everyone. I’m honored to be here and get this amazing prize. I wish Pau Cubarsi could be here, because I believe this trophy should be his. He truly deserves it. He’s been playing incredibly well, and I wish he had won tonight.”
“This is my third year receiving this prize, and I’m very thankful. I want to thank my club, my national team, and everyone who supports me. I’ll keep working hard to win more team and individual awards.”
Henry then asked if the Kopa Trophy was “the one he really wanted” tonight. Yamal laughed and said, “All of them! But honestly, this one should have gone to Cubarsi.”
Henry replied, “Wow! That’s very nice.” Yamal’s humble words earned a lot of praise on social media.
One fan wrote on X (Twitter), “These guys forget some of these players are just kids playing together for their childhood club.” Another said, “Lamine Yamal spending his whole speech saying Pau Cubarsi should have won instead is just wonderful.” And another added, “Lovely of Yamal to dedicate the Kopa Trophy to Cubarsi.”
Cubarsi was nominated for both the Kopa and Ballon d’Or awards like Yamal and finished 12th in the Ballon d’Or ranking. However, he couldn’t attend the ceremony. Spanish radio station Cadena SER reported he stayed home to rest after a demanding few weeks. Barca’s head coach Hansi Flick also didn’t travel.
After Yamal’s win, Barcelona celebrated again as Vicky Lopez took home the women’s Kopa Trophy. The 20-year-old won the same award last year and helped Barca claim both the Liga F and Champions League titles last season.