Golden Boy (award)

The Golden Boy is an award established by Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport, that is given by sports journalists to a young male footballer playing in Europe perceived to have been the most impressive during a calendar year (two halves to two separate seasons). All nominees must be under the age of 21 and play in a European nation's top tier. Apart from the main award, an additional one, Golden Boy Web, is decided by online users.

Source: Wikipedia

Article

Golden Boy (award)

Rafael van der Vaart became the first recipient in 2003 by winning it at the age of 20 years and 304 days. To this day, he remains the oldest winner of the award. Lionel Messi is the only player to have won both the prestigious Golden Boy award and the Ballon d'Or. He received the Golden Boy in 2005 at the age of 18 years and 173 days, and remained the youngest winner until Gavi won the award in 2022 at 18 years and 77 days. The current youngest winner is Lamine Yamal, who claimed the award in 2024 at the age of 17 years and 137 days.

Selection

Golden Boy (award)

The prize was established by Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport in 2003. Newspapers that now participate in voting include Bild (Germany), Blick (Switzerland), A Bola (Portugal), L'Équipe (France), France Football (France), Marca (Spain), Mundo Deportivo (Spain), Ta Nea (Greece), Sport Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Netherlands), and The Times (United Kingdom). Each juror is allowed to nominate five players; the juror allocates 10 points to their most impressive pick, 7 for second, 5 for third, 3 for fourth, and 1 point for fifth.

Winners

Golden Boy (award)

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Winner</th><th>Club(s)</th><th>Position</th><th>Birth year</th><th>Award age</th><th>Ref(s)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2003</td><td>Rafael van der Vaart</td><td>Ajax</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>1983</td><td>20 years, 304 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2004</td><td>Wayne Rooney</td><td>Everton Manchester United</td><td>Forward</td><td>1985</td><td>19 years, 50 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2005</td><td>Lionel Messi</td><td>Barcelona</td><td>Forward</td><td>1987</td><td>18 years, 173 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>Cesc Fàbregas</td><td>Arsenal</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>1987</td><td>19 years, 212 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2007</td><td>Sergio Agüero</td><td>Atlético Madrid</td><td>Forward</td><td>1988</td><td>19 years, 188 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td>Anderson</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>1988</td><td>20 years, 237 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Alexandre Pato</td><td>Milan</td><td>Forward</td><td>1989</td><td>20 years, 102 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>Mario Balotelli</td><td>Inter Milan Manchester City</td><td>Forward</td><td>1990</td><td>20 years, 13 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>Mario Götze</td><td>Borussia Dortmund</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>1992</td><td>19 years, 189 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>Isco</td><td>Málaga</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>1992</td><td>20 years, 245 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Paul Pogba</td><td>Juventus</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>1993</td><td>20 years, 264 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>Raheem Sterling</td><td>Liverpool</td><td>Forward</td><td>1994</td><td>20 years, 12 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Anthony Martial</td><td>Monaco Manchester United</td><td>Forward</td><td>1995</td><td>20 years, 14 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>Renato Sanches</td><td>Benfica Bayern Munich</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>1997</td><td>19 years, 67 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Kylian Mbappé</td><td>Monaco Paris Saint-Germain</td><td>Forward</td><td>1998</td><td>18 years, 307 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Matthijs de Ligt</td><td>Ajax</td><td>Defender</td><td>1999</td><td>19 years, 127 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>João Félix</td><td>Benfica Atlético Madrid</td><td>Forward</td><td>1999</td><td>20 years, 17 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>Erling Haaland</td><td>Borussia Dortmund</td><td>Forward</td><td>2000</td><td>20 years, 123 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Pedri</td><td>Barcelona</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>2002</td><td>18 years, 362 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>Gavi</td><td>Barcelona</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>2004</td><td>18 years, 77 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td>Jude Bellingham</td><td>Borussia Dortmund Real Madrid</td><td>Midfielder</td><td>2003</td><td>20 years, 159 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td>Lamine Yamal</td><td>Barcelona</td><td>Forward</td><td>2007</td><td>17 years, 137 days</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2025</td><td>Désiré Doué</td><td>Paris Saint-Germain</td><td>Forward</td><td>2005</td><td>20 years, 154 days</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Awards won by position

Golden Boy (award)

<table><thead><tr><th>Position</th><th>Win(s)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Forward</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>Midfielder</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Defender</td><td>1</td></tr></tbody></table>

Awards won by nationality

Golden Boy (award)

<table><thead><tr><th>Country</th><th>Win(s)</th><th>Year(s)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Spain</td><td>5</td><td>2006, 2012, 2021, 2022, 2024</td></tr><tr><td>France</td><td>4</td><td>2013, 2015, 2017, 2025</td></tr><tr><td>England</td><td>3</td><td>2004, 2014, 2023</td></tr><tr><td>Netherlands</td><td>2</td><td>2003, 2018</td></tr><tr><td>Argentina</td><td>2005, 2007</td></tr><tr><td>Brazil</td><td>2008, 2009</td></tr><tr><td>Portugal</td><td>2016, 2019</td></tr><tr><td>Italy</td><td>1</td><td>2010</td></tr><tr><td>Germany</td><td>2011</td></tr><tr><td>Norway</td><td>2020</td></tr></tbody></table>

Awards won by club

Golden Boy (award)

Year in bold have shared the win with other clubs.

<table><thead><tr><th>Club</th><th>Win(s)</th><th>Year(s)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Barcelona</td><td>4</td><td>2005, 2021, 2022, 2024</td></tr><tr><td>Borussia Dortmund</td><td>3</td><td>2011, 2020, 2023</td></tr><tr><td>Manchester United</td><td>2004, 2008, 2015</td></tr><tr><td>Ajax</td><td>2</td><td>2003, 2018</td></tr><tr><td>Atlético Madrid</td><td>2007, 2019</td></tr><tr><td>Monaco</td><td>2015, 2017</td></tr><tr><td>Benfica</td><td>2016, 2019</td></tr><tr><td>Paris Saint-Germain</td><td>2017, 2025</td></tr><tr><td>Everton</td><td>1</td><td>2004</td></tr><tr><td>Arsenal</td><td>2006</td></tr><tr><td>Milan</td><td>2009</td></tr><tr><td>Manchester City</td><td>2010</td></tr><tr><td>Inter Milan</td><td>2010</td></tr><tr><td>Málaga</td><td>2012</td></tr><tr><td>Juventus</td><td>2013</td></tr><tr><td>Liverpool</td><td>2014</td></tr><tr><td>Bayern Munich</td><td>2016</td></tr><tr><td>Real Madrid</td><td>2023</td></tr></tbody></table>