Such an accolade can be a huge boost for a young player's career, but could also have an adverse effect and heap too much pressure on them at such a youthful age.
Here, Flashscore looks at the previous winners of the award and what happened next in their careers.
1958 - Pele
Pele is the youngest ever winner of the award when he claimed the trophy aged just 17, which set him up for what would become a legendary career.
The Brazilian would go on to score 643 goals in 656 competitive appearances for Santos, while also becoming his national team's record goalscorer with a staggering 77 goals in 92 matches.
Watch out for Neymar at the 2022 World Cup, who is just two strikes behind the legend and could break the record in Qatar.
1962 - Florian Albert
Perhaps a lesser-known name, Albert was joint top scorer in 1962 with four goals at the age of just 20. The forward played for a Hungary side who were knocked out in the quarter-finals, and stayed in the same nation for his entire club career with Ferencvaros.
Albert won the Ballon d'Or in 1967, ahead of the likes of Bobby Charlton. He went on to retire a one-club man before continuing behind the scenes at Ferencvaros, eventually having their stadium named after him in 2007.
1966 - Franz Beckenbauer
Beckenbauer went on the become a legend in Germany, making 396 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern Munich. The defender won the league four times, as well as three European Cups and a World Cup in 1974.
He would play out the final years of his career in America with the New York Cosmos, before becoming manager of the German national team tasked with recapturing the World Cup in 1980. Sure enough, he guided Germany to their second tournament triumph and would then take the managerial role at Bayern - winning another Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup.
1970 - Teofilo Cubillas
The Peruvian attacking midfielder won the YPOTT award aged 21 after his performances at the 1970 World Cup. Peru made it to the round of 16 stage where they were knocked out by eventual winners Brazil.
Cubillas scored five goals in four games, including strikes against Brazil and West Germany.
He was named Peru's greatest-ever player in an IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) poll and is one of only two players to score five or more goals at three different World Cups (alongside Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose).
1974 - Wladyslaw Zmuda
Zmuda was part of the Poland side that came third at the 1974 and 1982 World Cups, being named the best young player at the former aged just 20.
The defender has made the joint-fourth most appearances in tournament history with 21 games played across four World Cups.
Zmuda spent the majority of his career in Poland, although did venture to Italy with Hellas Verona and Cremonese, either side of a short stint with the New York Cosmos.
1978 - Antonio Cabrini
The left-back was named YPOTT in 1978 after helping Italy finish fourth.
Cabrini went on to have a superb international career, playing 73 times for the Italians and winning the World Cup in 1982.
He also excelled at club level with Juventus where we won the Italian championship six times as well as two Italian cups and one UEFA Cup.
1982 - Manuel Amoros
Another full-back, this time on the right-hand side, Amoros won the accolade in 1982 after featuring in the French side that also finished fourth.
Unlike Cabrini, Amoros wouldn't go on to win the World Cup during his career but he did make 82 appearances for France and scored one goal.
He also had a good career at club level, mostly playing for AS Monaco but also Marseille and Olympique Lyon.
1986 - Enzo Scifo
The only Belgian player to ever win the award, Scifo played as an attacking midfielder and helped Belgium to reach the semi-finals.
Remarkably, he is yet another YPOTT who finished fourth with his respective nation, although Scifo's more attacking role saw him score twice at the tournament.
He spent the majority of his career in Belgium and France, making most of his appearances for Anderlecht where we won the league four times. Scifo also had stints in Italy with Inter and Torino before retiring in 2001.
1990 - Robert Prosinecki
Prosinecki represented Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Cup before going on the play for Croatia. He won the YPOTT award for his performances, reaching the quarter-finals.
Despite never really nailing down a permanent home in his club career, Prosinecki managed to play for both Real Madrid and Barcelona as well as Portsmouth.
Impressively, he played for 13 clubs throughout his career as well as - technically - two national teams.
1994 - Marc Overmars
In 1994 Overmars was named YPOTT as the Netherlands reached the quarter-finals, failing to score but still registering two assists. The winger had a fantastic career for club and country, playing for Ajax, Arsenal and Barcelona.
His Netherlands career lasted 11 years with Overmars featuring 86 times, playing at two World Cups and two European Championships before retiring from international football in 2004.
1998 - Michael Owen
Owen was one of the stars of the 1998 World Cup as England reached the round of 16. He netted two goals aged just 18 and would go on to have a stellar career in English football.
That same year he won the Ballon d'Or, the last Englishman to win the award, before going on to score 150 Premier League goals putting him 10th in the all-time top scorer charts.
2002 - Landon Donovan
The only American to have ever won the award, Donovan was named YPOTT at the 2002 World Cup aged 20. He largely built a name for himself in the MLS with LA Galaxy where he became the club's record goalscorer before finding less success in Europe with Bayern Munich and Everton.
Donovan also went on the become the USA's leading all-time scorer with 57 goals, joint first with fellow American legend Clint Dempsey.
He only made three appearances at the World Cup with the USA, but that was enough to earn him the YPOTT award.
2006 - Lukas Podolski
One of three Germans to have been named YPOTT, unfortunately for Podolski, he wouldn't hit the heights of Beckenbauer or the next winner of the award. Regardless, he still had a fantastic career, playing for Bayern Munich but finding most of his success at FC Koln where he scored 86 goals in 181 games in all competitions.
He also played in the Premier League with Arsenal between 2012 and 2015, before stints in Turkey with Galatasaray and Antalyaspor. The German still plays now for the Polish club Gornik Zabrze.
2010 - Thomas Muller
Muller went on to be a mainstay in both the Bayern Munich and Germany squad for the next 12 years, still going strong for both club and country in the present day.
He has made 118 appearances for his national team, scoring 44 goals. More impressively, he has one of the best trophy cabinets in the modern game having won 11 Bundesligas, two Champions Leagues, a World Cup and six German Cups.
He will be a vital part of the German squad in Qatar this winter.
2014 - Paul Pogba
The case of Pogba is a curious one, as a footballer who looked to have the world at his feet at such a young age at Manchester United, before moving to Juventus on a free transfer and capturing the best form of his career.
He won the YPOTT award aged 21 in 2014, but upon his return to England in 2016 his career started to spiral. Never really getting back to the levels he showed in Italy, Pogba struggled to have a major impact in his second spell at United before eventually being let go for free (again) to Juventus (again).
The Frenchman is yet to play this season after suffering a serious injury in the summer and will miss out on the 2022 World Cup.
2018 - Kylian Mbappe
The most recent winner of the award, Mbappe is still just 23 years old and has continued to prove himself - alongside Erling Haaland - as the next major contender for the status of best in the world.
Mbappe has 28 goals already for France which puts him tenth in their all-time scoring charts. More remarkably, he is already over halfway towards the total of first-placed Thierry Henry (51) and it is hard to see him not breaking the overall record before his career is over.
