Paris (AFP) – Dutch starlet Matthijs de Ligt won the Kopa Trophy for the best player aged under 21 at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in Paris on Monday, while Liverpool star Alisson won the inaugural Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper.
Defender De Ligt, 20, starred in the Ajax side who reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals and won the Dutch title, before joining Juventus in the close season in a deal worth 85.5 million euros ($94.7 million).
The award is named after Raymond Kopa, the Real Madrid and France star of the post-war era who won the Ballon d’Or in 1958.
France forward Kylian Mbappe was the inaugural winner of the prize last year.
Alisson is the first winner of the new Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper, named after former USSR icon Lev Yashin.
He helped Liverpool to Champions League glory and also won the Copa America with Brazil, form that also led to him finishing seventh in the voting for the overall men’s Ballon d’Or prize.
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