Ballon d’Or 2026: 5 Records Lamine Yamal Could Break if He Wins the Award

Lamine Yamal finished eighth at the 2024 Ballon d'Or before climbing to second place in 2025, setting up a potential historic run at the 2026 awardThe Barcelona winger could become the first teenager and the youngest player ever to win the Ballon d'Or if he claims the prize this yearYEN.com.gh takes a look at the five remarkable milestones the 19-year-old could achieve should he win the award in LondonPAY ATTENTION: Mark YEN.com.gh as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!

Lamine Yamal is on course to rewrite the record books at the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony scheduled for October 26 in London, with the Barcelona winger in contention to claim football's most coveted individual prize after a stunning year on the domestic and international stage.

Having placed eighth in 2024 and risen to second in 2025, the Spanish teenager now stands within reach of a historic win. Here are five records he could break if he takes home the award.

Lamine Yamal named Ballon d’Or 2026 winner by CIES; Mbappé ranks 6th

Ballon d’Or 2026: 5 Records Lamine Yamal Could Break if He Wins the Award Source: Getty Images5 records Yamal could break if he wins Ballon d'Or 1. Youngest Ballon d'Or winner everAt 19 years old, Yamal would surpass Brazil icon Ronaldo Nazário as the youngest player to win the prize, per USA Today. Ronaldo claimed the 1997 Ballon d'Or aged 21 years and 92 days, a record that has stood for nearly three decades.

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No player has ever won the men's Ballon d'Or before their 20th birthday. Should Yamal lift the trophy, he would become the first to do so, a milestone that speaks to his unprecedented ascent at club and international level.

Spain has produced three Ballon d'Or winners in the award's history: Alfredo di Stefano won the prize in 1957 and 1959, shortly after naturalising as a Spanish citizen. Luis Suárez Miramontes followed suit in 1960, and Rodri in 2024. A victory for Yamal would add him to the list, further underlining Spain's growing footprint in world football's most prestigious individual honour.

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Yamal would become the seventh men's Barcelona player to win the award and the first since Lionel Messi claimed it in 2019, per the club's website. The symbolic weight of a new generation carrying the Catalan club's Ballon d'Or legacy forward would not be lost on supporters of the club.

Yamal has the opportunity to complete one of football's most celebrated doubles – the World Cup and Ballon d'Or trophies. Seven players before him have won the World Cup and the Ballon d'Or in the same year.

Lionel Messi achieved a version of the feat across the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Ballon d'Or cycle after leading Argentina to glory in Qatar. For Yamal, securing the individual prize off the back of a World Cup triumph would represent yet another defining chapter in a career that has already produced more than most players achieve in a lifetime.

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Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Lamine Yamal topped the CIES Football Observatory’s latest 2026 Ballon d’Or performance rankings, finishing ahead of stars such as Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane.

The rankings assess players’ performances while accounting for the competitive level of the matches they feature in.

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Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe (Sports Editor) Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a CAF-accredited journalist with over five years of experience in digital journalism. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Integrated Rural Arts and Industry (2016). Godwin’s career includes covering the 2023 AFCON and grassroots competitions within Ghana. He has also served as a Presenter at VNTV, a Sports Analyst at Obonu FM, and a Football Writer for a myriad of sports websites. He joined Yen.com.gh in 2024 to cover sports. Email: godwin.tagoe@yen.com.gh.