Following the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony in London, officials from France Football and L'Équipe released the official voting results for the various categories.

The Young Talent of the Year award took centre stage due to the calibre of its judging panel, comprising every Ballon d'Or winner in history.

Under the scoring system, each legend selects three footballers under the age of 21 (as at 31 July 2026) in order of merit, awarding 5 points to the first, 3 to the second and 1 to the third.

Among those responsible for voting was Lionel Messi. The all-time record holder for the Ballon d'Or, with eight trophies to his name, ranked his top three as follows:

  • 1st place (5 points): Lamine Yamal

  • 2nd place (3 points): Pau Cubarsí

  • 3rd place (1 point): Ibrahim Maza

A choice that tipped the balance in the closest of contests

Ultimately, Lionel Messi’s vote carried enormous weight when the final result was announced: Lamine Yamal was crowned the winner with 96 points, compared to Pau Cubarsí’s 94.

A razor-thin margin of just two points sealed Lamine Yamal’s third consecutive victory in this award (2024, 2025 and 2026).

Had their top two positions been reversed, the trophy would have changed hands.

The Rosario-born star’s faith in the FC Barcelona duo is nothing new. Messi had already selected them in the two previous editions, confirming his view of the impact both academy graduates have made at the very top of European football.

The World Cup nod to Ibrahim Maza

The big surprise on the ‘No. 10’s’ ballot came in the third slot. The only vote cast for the Algerian Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen) in the entire poll came from Messi.

The sporting bond between the two was forged a few months ago on the pitch, when the Argentina national team faced Algeria in the opening match of the group stage at the 2026 World Cup.

The North African forward’s audacity and talent were enough to catch the eye of the Argentine legend, who decided to reward him with a point on the official ballot paper.

Final standings: 2026 Young Male Talent of the Year

  1. Lamine Yamal (Spain, FC Barcelona): 96 points

  2. Pau Cubarsí (Spain, FC Barcelona): 94 points

  3. Warren Zaïre-Emery (France, Paris Saint-Germain): 20 points

  4. Lennart Karl (Germany, Bayern Munich): 10 points

  5. Yan Diomandé (Ivory Coast, RB Leipzig): 8 points

  6. Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco, Lille): 7 points

  7. Kerim Alajbegović (Bosnia and Herzegovina, RB Salzburg): 5 points

  8. Éli Junior Kroupi (France, AFC Bournemouth): 2 points

  9. Ibrahim Maza (Algeria, Bayer Leverkusen): 1 point

  10. Johan Manzambi (Switzerland, SC Fribourg): 0 points

Here are the votes cast by all the Ballon d'Or winners:

  • Gianni Rivera (1969): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Lamine Yamal, 3. Kerim Alajbegović

  • Oleg Blokhin (1975): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Warren Zaïre-Emery

  • Allan Simonsen (1977): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Warren Zaïre-Emery

  • Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1980, 1981): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Lennart Karl, 3. Lamine Yamal

  • Igor Belanov (1986): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Éli Junior Kroupi

  • Ruud Gullit (1987): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Ayyoub Bouaddi, 3. Lennart Karl

  • Marco van Basten (1988, 1989, 1992): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Lennart Karl, 3. Warren Zaïre-Emery

  • Lothar Matthäus (1990): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Yan Diomandé, 3. Pau Cubarsí

  • Jean-Pierre Papin (1991): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Warren Zaïre-Emery, 3. Pau Cubarsí

  • Roberto Baggio (1993): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Lennart Karl, 3. Kerim Alajbegović

  • Hristo Stoichkov (1994): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Yan Diomandé, 3. Lamine Yamal

  • George Weah (1995): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Lamine Yamal, 3. Warren Zaïre-Emery

  • Matthias Sammer (1996): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Warren Zaïre-Emery, 3. Lamine Yamal

  • Ronaldo Nazário (1997, 2002): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Warren Zaïre-Emery

  • Rivaldo (1999): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Lamine Yamal, 3. Yan Diomandé

  • Luís Figo (2000): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Warren Zaïre-Emery

  • Michael Owen (2001): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Warren Zaïre-Emery, 3. Pau Cubarsí

  • Pavel Nedvěd (2003): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Lamine Yamal, 3. Ayyoub Bouaddi

  • Andriy Shevchenko (2004): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Ayyoub Bouaddi

  • Ronaldinho (2005): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Lamine Yamal, 3. Yan Diomandé

  • Fabio Cannavaro (2006): 1. Pau Cubarsí, 2. Lamine Yamal, 3. Ayyoub Bouaddi

  • Kaká (2007): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Warren Zaïre-Emery, 3. Pau Cubarsí

  • Lionel Messi (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Ibrahim Maza

  • Luka Modrić (2018): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Kerim Alajbegović, 3. Warren Zaïre-Emery

  • Karim Benzema (2022): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Ayyoub Bouaddi

  • Rodri (2024): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Éli Junior Kroupi

  • Ousmane Dembélé (2025): 1. Lamine Yamal, 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Warren Zaïre-Emery

The only Ballon d'Or winners who did not vote on these occasions were Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Zinédine Zidane (1998) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).