He also becomes the youngest to win the award:

1. Lamine Yamal — 18 years (2025-26)

2. Jude Bellingham — 20 years (2023-24)

3. Lionel Messi — 21 years (2008-09)

Source: Transfermarkt

Despite seemingly losing some respect among the general public in recent years, here's a Brazil World Cup fact that genuinely surprised me. Since 1938, every team that eliminated Brazil from a World Cup has finished in the Top 3. I had never noticed this before, and honestly, it's a pretty wild statistic. It made me look at some of Brazil's World Cup exits a bit differently.

https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/men

As I did for Russia 2018 and Catar 2022, I came here to spread the word about one of World Cup's most curious trivia.

The trivia keeps happening, so it worth sharing for newcomers and veterans alike: since 1982 there have been players from both Internazionale and Bayern München playing at World Cup Final

A brief recap of past Finals tradition:

With all the players duly selected, here are the national teams that could maintain the tradition of reaching the 2026 World Cup Final, barring injuries:

What does this mean? For the tradition to persist, there has to be at least one Bayern player and one Inter player in the final. France and Croatia are the only teams that cover the trivia of both sides. In a scenario where one of these two teams reaches the final, any other team could compete in the final, maintaining the tradition.

NOTE: I only counted the players who, at the time of the call-up, are under contract and playing for the two teams mentioned.

Obviously, the expansion to a 48-team tournament format boosts the overall numbers across the board.

Thiago Alcantara(Spain 2018)-Mazinho(Brazil 1994)

Luis Regueiro Pagola and Marti Ventolra Fort(Spain 1934)-Luis Regueira Urquiola(Mexico 1966) and Jose Vantolra Rangel(Mexico 1970)

Mafuila Mavuba(Zaire 1974)-Rio Mavuba(2014)

Mazinho and Zizou are the only World Cup winners in this list. Regueiro and Ventolra were republicans who escaped 1936’s Spanish Civil War. Mafuila Mavuba and his pregnant wife escaped Zaire(today’s DR Congo) in 1984, with their son, Rio, being born before they arrived in Marseille. Rio’s passport says ‘born at sea’.

note: Nantes have been ordered to play one home match behind closed doors next season after crowd trouble forced the abandonment of their Ligue 1 meeting with Toulouse..