New award before Ballon d'Or?/ Yamal and a record that no other player has

Lamine Yamal is trying to record the first defense of the title of the best player of the year in the MARCA ranking.

According to "Varzeh Se", the winner of the prestigious award of the top 100 players of Marca newspaper in the fifth period of this ceremony will be announced on October 22-30. The award is given to the king of football in the 2025-26 season, taking into account performances in club competitions and the 2026 World Cup hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, and Lamine Yamal, winner of the 2024-25 season, will defend his crown this time.

Barcelona's national team star and champion of La Liga, Super Cup and World Cup won the first place last season with 3,310 points and based on the votes of a jury consisting of more than a hundred domestic and international journalists, ahead of players such as Ousmane Dembele with 3,100 points, Vitinia with 2,732 points, Rafinha with 2,467 points and Kylian Mbappe with 2,292 points.

The list of winners of Marca's top 100 players award is as follows:

Season 2025-26: Uncertain (announcement date: October 22)

The young star of Barcelona is now facing a big challenge; He is trying to become the first player in the history of this award who repeats this title for the second year in a row; An honor that has never been achieved by any player. His brilliant performance during the season has made him one of the main contenders to repeat this honor.

In the past years, all the winners of this award faced a considerable drop in the ranking after their shining year. For example, after winning the first title in the 2023-24 season, Vinicius Jr. dropped significantly to the 21st place in the 2024-25 season. Erling Holland, the winner of the 2022-23 season, was ranked sixth the following season, and Karim Benzema, the first winner of the award in the 2021-22 season, dropped to 20th place in the following year's ranking.

Lamine Yamal, who is considered one of the main chances to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or, has a tough test ahead of him on October 22; Because the selection method of this award is very similar to the traditional process of the France Football Award. His success in this event could be a promising sign for important events that will take place a few days later on October 26 in London.