Lamine Yamal was named the LALIGA EA SPORTS Player of the Season for 2025/2026, the league announced after Barcelona defended their title and finished the campaign on 94 points.
Interest in Jude Bellingham flared alongside the award because his late-October comment that Yamal’s talk was "cheap" came after Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu — a line that now sits against Yamal’s season-long production and individual honor.
The figures behind the award are clear: Yamal, 18, finished the season with 16 goals and 12 assists and played a leading role as Barcelona wrapped up the title in week 35 and closed the campaign on 94 points. Barcelona’s run included stretches that read like domination — an 11th win in a row, 23rd win in 25 games and victories across three different homes — and the youngster opened the campaign with a dramatic last-kick goal against Mallorca.
There were strains inside the campaign as well; Yamal himself referenced an "internal abyss" during the season, and managers flagged his age and the scrutiny around him. Hansi Flick put it simply: "He’s old enough: he’s 18." Those two notes — acknowledged struggle and acknowledged maturity — help explain why voters rewarded the teenager for impact rather than a spotless, drama-free year.
That context sharpens the awkward contrast with Bellingham’s remark. After Madrid’s 2-1 win in late October, the English midfielder called Yamal’s talk "cheap," and other voices around the rivalry echoed a warning about ego with Xabi Alonso saying "ego kills success." Still, Barcelona’s results and Yamal’s numbers carried the day: the same player derided in October is now the league’s top individual honoree for 2025/2026.
What remains unresolved is how the award was decided: the league and its partner have not published a detailed voting breakdown or the selection criteria that produced Yamal as Player of the Season. That gap leaves the most consequential question standing — why the votes landed as they did — and it will shape how Bellingham’s late-season barb and Yamal’s breakthrough are read next season.
