How 27 Ballon d’Or Legends Voted for the 2025 Kopa Trophy

Lamine Yamal may have missed out on the Ballon d’Or, but the Barcelona starlet comfortably took home the 2025 Kopa Trophy. Voted on by 27 former Ballon d'Or winners, the award revealed a fascinating peek into how football’s greatest legends view the rising stars of the game.

Gianni Rivera

Placed Yamal first, followed by Doue and Juventus' Kenan Yildiz in third.

Oleg Blokhine

Chose Yamal for the top spot, with Doue and Neves completing his ballot.

Alan Simonsen

Voted for Yamal, Doue, and Barcelona’s young defender Pau Cubarsi.

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Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

Ranked Yamal first, Doue second, and Real Madrid’s Dean Huijsen third.

Igor Belanov

Backed Yamal to win, while Neves and Estevao rounded out his top three.

Ruud Gullit

Snubbed Yamal completely, opting for Doue, Huijsen, and Cubarsi instead.

Marco van Basten

Went with the popular choice: Yamal, Doue, and Neves.

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Lothar Matthaus

Picked Yamal first, with Estevao and Yildiz showing up second and third.

Jean-Pierre Papin

Selected Yamal, then Doue, and gave a surprise third-place vote to Rodrigo Mora.

Roberto Baggio

Put Doue at the top, followed by Neves and Yamal in third.

Hristo Stoichkov

Chose Yamal first, Yildiz second, and Doue third.

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George Weah

Followed the trend with Yamal, Doue, and Neves in that order.

Matthias Sammer

Went with Yamal, Neves, and Doue — swapping the usual second and third.

Ronaldo Nazario

Voted Yamal top, followed by Doue and fellow Brazilian Estevao.

Zinedine Zidane

Matched the most common trio: Yamal, Doue, and Neves.

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Rivaldo

Went all-in on young talent with Yamal, Estevao, and Neves.

Luis Figo

Backed Yamal, with Doue second and Neves third.

Michael Owen

Also picked Yamal, Doue, and Neves — staying in line with the consensus.

Pavel Nedved

Broke from the crowd, choosing Doue first, Yamal second, and Yildiz third.

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Andriy Shevchenko

Followed the majority with Yamal, Doue, and Neves.

Ronaldinho

Praised Yamal, Doue, and added Chelsea’s Estevao to his list.

Fabio Cannavaro

Gave his votes to Yamal, Doue, and Neves.

Kaka

Selected Yamal for first, then Doue and Huijsen.

Lionel Messi

Voted for Yamal, then Doue, and teammate Cubarsi in third.

Luka Modric

Gave top spot to Yamal, with Neves and Doue just behind.

Karim Benzema

Aligned with many others: Yamal, Doue, and Neves.

Rodri

Also voted for Yamal first, followed by Doue and Neves.