1
Manchester United duo Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho finished third and sixth in the Kopa Trophy ceremony in Paris.
The award was first given during the Ballon d’Or ceremony in 2018 and is described as “an association football award presented to the best performing player worldwide under the age of 21 during a joint ceremony with the Ballon d’Or.”
Spain and Barcelona star Lamine Yamal unsurprisingly won the award and Real Madrid and Turkish sensation Arda Guler finished runner up.
Impressively United’s Mainoo finished in third place after less than twelve months in the spotlight.
The young Englishman enjoyed a sensational rise in incredibly tough circumstances as his side finished eighth in the Premier League table last year and find themselves 14th this year.
He only made his league debut in late November last year at Goodison Park but firmly cemented himself as United’s top midfield option by the season’s end and capped a fine year with the second goal in the FA Cup final victory.
Mainoo would also go on to force his way into the England team and played the Euro 2024 final, losing 2-1 to Spain.
United had another entrant in the top 10, as Alejandro Garnacho finished in sixth place, one spot behind Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsi.
The Argentine broke through the United ranks in the 2022/2023 season but really confirmed himself as a first choice option last year, scoring 10 goals and playing in 50 games last season for the Red Devils. He was also a member of Argentina’s successful Copa America winning squad this summer.
While injury has curtailed Mainoo’s progress this season, Garnacho has already scored five goals in this campaign and looks set to comfortably beat his goal tally from last year.
Here is the 2024 Kopa Trophy full ranking!
1️⃣ Yamal Lamine
2️⃣ Güler Arda
3️⃣ Mainoo Kobbie
4️⃣ Savinho
5️⃣ Cubarsí Pau#TrophéeKopa #ballondor pic.twitter.com/DF74Pem57m— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) October 28, 2024
Mainoo’s third place is the first time a United player has made it onto the podium but current United star Matthijs de Ligt won the award while playing for Juventus in 2019.
In the same year, Jadon Sancho, while playing for Borussia Dortmund, finished second in the final rankings.
With an incredibly exciting collection of youngsters breaking through the academy at the moment, United will be hoping their name will become a regular feature of the Kopa trophy nominations and winners for years to come.
Feature image Glyn Kirk via Getty Images