Lamine Yamal Beats Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo to Outrageous La Liga Record

Even while injured, Yamal is setting new milestones for Barcelona and the Spanish top flight.

Lamine Yamal (center) is setting landmarks even Lionel Messi (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo weren’t able to reach. | David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Pedro Salado/David Aliaga/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Lamine Yamal became the first player in La Liga history to be voted as Player of the Month three times in the same season, a feat which even eluded Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Despite being resigned to a season-ending injury, Yamal claimed the gong for April to go alongside his triumphs in November and December of 2025. The teenage phenom’s last act of the campaign was to score his 16th league goal this term—a tally unrivaled by any of his teammates—while he also boasts a division-high 11 assists. Given his domination of the monthly prizes and Barcelona’s impending title triumph, the expectation is that Yamal will also claim the seasonal award come May.

Since La Liga first started dishing out monthly moments of recognition a decade and a half ago, no one has enjoyed a level of domination quite like Yamal.

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Most La Liga Player of the Month Awards in a Single Season

Player	Season	Wins
Lamine Yamal	2025–26	3
Diego Godín	2013–14	2
Antoine Griezmann	2014–15	2
Antoine Griezmann	2016–17	2
Lionel Messi	2018–19	2
Lionel Messi	2019–20	2
Karim Benzema	2021–22	2
Jude Bellingham	2023–24	2
Kylian Mbappé	2025–26	2

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This was a particular prize which oddly escaped Ronaldo. Real Madrid’s record goalscorer was only voted Player of the Month three times (November 2013, May 2015 and May 2017)—although it should be noted that this honor was only officially established by Spain’s top flight in 2013, skipping four years of Ronaldo’s excellence in the capital.

In terms of all-time wins, Yamal has already surpassed Ronaldo, boasting the gong from September 2024 to go alongside his hat-trick of triumphs this term. However, there is still some way for the teenager to go to match Messi (and Antoine Griezmann) in this regard.

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All Time La Liga Player of the Month Award Winners

Antoine Griezmann (left) can match Lionel Messi for Player of the Month awards. | David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images

Rank	Player	Wins
T-1st	Lionel Messi	8
T-1st	Antoine Griezmann	8
3rd	Karim Benzema	5
T-4th	Lamine Yamal	4
T-4th	Iago Aspas	4
T-4th	Luis Suárez	4
T-7th	Jude Bellingham	3
T-7th	Vinicius Junior	3
T-7th	Robert Lewandowski	3
T-7th	Kylian Mbappé	3
T-7th	Cristiano Ronaldo	3

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Yamal’s Record Could Stand for Less Than One Month

Real Madrid have yet to win a major trophy since Kylian Mbappé joined the team. | Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images

Kylian Mbappé’s prolific start to the season was recognized with back-to-back Player of the Month awards in September and October. Should the Real Madrid forward shine in May, he could match Yamal’s feat of three seasonal triumphs.

There is ample opportunity for Mbappé to thrive next month, although seemingly little chance of it happening.

The French forward has endured a noticeable dip in form since playing through the pain barrier over the festive period with a problematic knee injury. Mbappé has scored just one La Liga goal since Feb. 8 despite rattling off 23 shots in six fixtures across this spell. The radar is uncalibrated and his fluency with the rest of his Real Madrid teammates has been justifiably called into question.

Mbappé could silence the outside noise with a dominant display in May’s Clásico—even if Barcelona have already wrapped up the title by then—while there are five league games in total for the 27-year-old to navigate before the end of the campaign.

Yet, even in the event of this late flourish of form, this La Liga season has unmistakably belonged to Yamal.

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