Lamine Yamal‘s performances on the earliest phases of his skilled profession proceed to seize the eye of the sporting world and its most prestigious award ceremonies. Now a two-time Laureus Award winner, the 18-year-old Barcelona star used the event to put Lionel Messi among the many best athletes within the historical past of sport.
The Laureus World Sports activities Awards, which honor people and groups throughout a variety of disciplines, held its 2026 version with Yamal as soon as once more among the many most outstanding names on the evening. This time, he was acknowledged with the Laureus World Younger Sportsperson of the Yr Award, offered by the Laureus Academy.
“I’m very completely happy to be the primary to obtain this award for finest younger athlete. It’s a supply of satisfaction,” Yamal mentioned upon gathering the trophy, taking a second to thank the Academy, the legends who voted for him, and his household and interior circle. He then turned his consideration to the one soccer determine to have claimed the Laureus World Sportsman of the Yr award.
“If you understand an athlete isn’t only a legend of their sport however of all sports activities — Messi, who for me is the very best participant in historical past, and if he isn’t the best athlete ever, he’s positively in that dialog with all of them,” Yamal mentioned. The Argentine icon first claimed the World Sportsman of the Yr in 2020, sharing the glory with Lewis Hamilton, earlier than claiming it once more in 2023 following Argentina’s World Cup triumph.
Barcelona Participant, Lamine Yamal poses with the Laureus World Younger Sportsperson of the Yr Award.
Yamal additionally spoke to Messi’s standing as a determine who transcends soccer altogether. “He’s greater than an idol. I feel everybody respects him for every part he’s finished. He’s been a part of the childhood of each child once we performed within the park or at college, and I hope I’ll be capable to observe in his footsteps,” {the teenager} mentioned.
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Yamal’s second Laureus Award
After serving to Barcelona declare La Liga, the Spanish Tremendous Cup and the Copa del Rey in 2025 whereas enjoying a pivotal position within the membership’s UEFA Champions League run, Lamine Yamal earned one other nod from the Laureus Academy. It was not his first time on that stage, nonetheless, because the Spanish teenager had already made historical past on the ceremony the 12 months prior.
For his starring position in main Spain to victory at Euro 2024, Yamal was named Laureus World Breakthrough of the Yr, an award that mirrored the immediacy and magnitude of his impression on soccer and the broader sporting panorama. Because the award’s first version in 2000, solely Jude Bellingham had beforehand claimed it as a soccer participant, in 2024, with Yamal following in his footsteps only one 12 months later.
With two Laureus Awards now in his assortment, Yamal closed with a forward-looking message about what the popularity means to him. “I’m grateful that my contributions to our crew in 2025 are being acknowledged with this Laureus. I imagine that sport has the facility to vary the world. This statuette represents a brand new era of athletes who can result in that change. I’m proud to be the primary to obtain this Laureus,” he concluded.
