Spanish star Lamine Yamal, the newly crowned Golden Boy winner, has set sky-high goals: he aims to win the World Cup with Spain and the Champions League with Barcelona, all before turning 21.

The young Barça star received the trophy on Sunday, before the match against Leganés, which certifies him as the best under-21 player in European leagues. The award, organized by the Italian newspaper Tuttosport, was presented by journalist Massimo Franchi, the award's creator, at the Lluís Companys Stadium in Barcelona.

"It is an honor to receive the Golden Boy award. It is the first step of what I hope will be a great career. However, I am very aware that individual awards are the result of collective work, so I want to keep performing well with Barça and Spain to accumulate more trophies, both team and individual ones. In any case, winning the Golden Boy is a great starting point for a young footballer. Every young player in the world aspires to achieve it," he said in the interview.

He also pointed toward the Ballon d'Or: "If I win with Barça, especially the Champions League, I will have more chances to aim for the individual trophy that crowns a player’s career: the Ballon d'Or. No player wins individual awards without achieving titles collectively with their team. By winning collectively, I will get closer to individual accolades because one is the result of the other."

Records and Rivalry with Jude Bellingham

Despite leaving the match with an injury to his right ankle, Lamine Yamal set two records in this edition of the Golden Boy.

A European champion with Spain this summer, he received 488 votes, narrowly surpassing Englishman Jude Bellingham, who last year achieved 97% of the vote—485 out of a possible 500 votes. The same percentage had been achieved previously by Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, but in an edition with only 30 voters, compared to the 50 voters participating this year.

Never before has there been a Golden Boy winner as young as Lamine Yamal, who achieved it at just 17 years and 4 months. Additionally, he joins the recent success of the Blaugrana club, which previously saw Pedro González 'Pedri' and Pablo Páez Gavira 'Gavi' win in the 2021 and 2022 editions, respectively. Another iconic Barça player, Argentine legend Lionel Messi, won it back in 2005.

This edition also highlighted Vicky López, who won the Golden Girl, and Aitana Bonmatí, a player for Barça and the Spanish national team, who was honored with the Golden Woman award as the best overall player of the season.

Meanwhile, the Golden Man award went to German star Toni Kroos, former player for Real Madrid.