Every year, the Kopa Trophy goes to the best U-21 player in the world, honoring the brightest emerging stars in soccer. First created in 2018, the prize is one of the honors handed out annually at the Ballon d’Or ceremony. Every previous winner of the award is now a household name, with trophy cabinets full of silverware for both club and country. Some are even household names at the time of winning the award, despite their ages.Barcelona players have dominated the award since its inception, with five of the seven men’s winners representing the Catalan outfit. The first-ever Women’s Kopa Trophy winner also dons the Blaugrana shirt. With the 2026 nominees for both the Men’s and Women’s Kopa Trophy now revealed, Barcelona could easily continue the trend at October’s ceremony.Here’s a full rundown of the award’s history.Kopa Trophy History BreakdownMen’s Kopa Trophy Winners Who Has Won the Most Men’s Kopa Trophy Awards? Women’s Kopa Trophy Winners Who Has Won the Most Women’s Kopa Trophy Awards? Men’s Kopa Trophy Winners Kylian Mbappé won the inaugural Kopa Trophy. | Kristy Sparow/Getty ImagesYearPlayerClubCountry2025Lamine YamalBarcelonaSpain2024Lamine YamalBarcelonaSpain2023Jude BellinghamBorussia DortmundEngland2022GaviBarcelonaSpain2021PedriBarcelonaSpain2020N/AN/AN/A2019Matthijs de LigtJuventusNetherlands2018Kylian Mbappé PSGFranceWho Has Won the Most Men’s Kopa Trophy Awards? Lamine Yamal is the reigning Kopa Trophy winner. | Gao Jing/Xinhua/Getty ImagesIn 2025, Lamine Yamal became the first player to ever win two Kopa Trophy awards. The Barcelona star first took home the honor in 2024 after he helped Spain win Euro 2024 one day after he turned 17 years old. Then, Yamal hoisted the prize a year later for his contributions to Barcelona’s domestic treble in 2024–25. The winger also finished as the Ballon d’Or runner-up at age 18.Yamal could extend his record as the player with the most Kopa Trophy wins in 2026 if he wins the award for the third-consecutive season. After helping Barcelona defend their La Liga and Spanish Super Cup titles and then winning the World Cup with La Roja, the 19-year-old is the overwhelming favorite. PlayerWinsLamine Yamal2 (2024, 2025)Jude Bellingham1 (2023)Gavi1 (2022)Pedri1 (2021)Matthijs de Ligt1 (2019)Kylian Mbappé 1 (2018)Women’s Kopa Trophy Winners Vicky López took home the first-ever Women’s Kopa Trophy last year. | Kristy Sparow/UEFA/Getty ImagesYearPlayerClubCountry2025Vicky LópezBarcelonaSpainWho Has Won the Most Women’s Kopa Trophy Awards? Vicky López made history as the first-ever Women’s Kopa Trophy winner. | Kristy Sparow/UEFA/Getty ImagesThe inaugural Women’s Kopa Trophy went to Barcelona winger Vicky López. At age 19, the Spanish youngster was named the best women’s U-21 player in the world after a breakout season with the first team. López scored nine goals in 37 appearances en route to Barcelona’s domestic treble. She also made her Champions League debut and quickly became the third-youngest player in club history to find the back of the net in Europe’s premier club competition. López is once again nominated for the award in 2026 and could join Yamal as the only two players to win multiple Kopa Trophy awards.PlayerWinsVicky López1 (2025)Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow