Yamal, Neves, Garnacho on the Golden Boy shortlist: what is the award and when will the winner be announced?

Who is the best U21 footballer in Europe? The closest answer we have is the Golden Boy Award winner.

In 2023 it was Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, but who from the 25-man shortlist will it be in 2024?

Since the award was first given to Rafael van der Vaart in 2003, there have been 21 winners, including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Wayne Rooney.

Although not all have reached these heights, the list of past winners includes players who have won the World Cup, the European Championship and the Copa America, as well as numerous championship titles in club sports.

Now that the shortlist has been announced, let’s take a look at the award, when and how it will be decided, and who could win it this year.

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What is the Golden Boy Award?

The award, created by the Italian newspaper Tuttosport, is given every year to the best U21 footballer. Dutchman Van der Vaart, then playing for Ajax, won in 2003. He then played for Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur and in the 2010 World Cup final defeat by Spain.

For a player to be considered for selection in 2024, he must be born on or after January 1, 2004 and belong to a squad in one of UEFA’s top 25 leagues (based on coefficients). This means that people who turned 21 this year, such as B. Bayer Leverkusen and the German attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz are not eligible to participate.

How is the winner determined?

With a combination of data and journalist voting. Tuttosport uses a football benchmark data model to create a “Golden Boy Football Benchmark Index”.

This index evaluates the top 100 eligible players each month based on metrics such as minutes played and performances for national teams and clubs.

A shortlist is derived from the top 20 in this index from the October update, as well as five wildcard selections awarded by Tuttosport. This shortlist was announced at an event in Rome on October 17th.

The shortlist will then be presented to a jury of 50 journalists, including reporters from The athleteto vote on it.

When will the winner be announced?

The winner will be announced in November. The ceremony will take place on December 16th in Turin.

Which players are on the shortlist for 2024?

The full list was announced on October 17 and includes Barcelona duo Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, PSG’s Joao Neves, Warren Zaire-Emery and Desire Doue, and Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and Leny Yoro, and Manchester United’s Adam Wharton Crystal Palace.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Wilson Odobert and Real Madrid’s Endrick are among the five wildcard picks.

Here we are!!
The 25 finalists for the Golden Boy Absolute Best!
Who will be the next European Golden Prize?#GoldenBoyAwards#GBFBIndex#FootballBenchmark#Tuttosport pic.twitter.com/angrfih1sw

— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyAwards) October 17, 2024

Who are the previous winners?

Kylian Mbappé for club and country in 2017:

51 games 🏃
25 goals ⚽️
12 assists 🅰️

Golden boy. pic.twitter.com/n0WLK6x9rU

– Squawka (@Squawka) October 23, 2017

Rooney (2004), Messi (2005), Paul Pogba (2013), Mbappe (2017) and Haaland (2020) are among the names who have won the award. They are all one-time winners – because you can only win the prize once.

Other names on the list include Anderson, the former Manchester United midfielder, and Alexandre Pato, who played for AC Milan and briefly Chelsea, as well as former Manchester City and Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli.

The Golden Boy winners came from 13 different countries, led by Spain (four) and England (three).

Who could win in 2024?

It’s hard to look past Lamine Yamal after the 17-year-old Barcelona winger led the assists at Euro 2024 and helped Spain to the title. He has started this season strongly, scoring his first Champions League goal and helping Hansi Flick’s side to the top of La Liga.

Other possible candidates include 19-year-old Portuguese midfielder Joao Neves, who moved from Benfica to Paris Saint-Germain for €60 million in the summer, as well as Manchester United duo Kobbie Mainoo, the 19-year-old English midfielder, and Alejandro Garnacho, the 20-year-old Argentine winger.

Is there anything else we should know?

France Football magazine, which presents the Ballon d’Or together with UEFA, has its own version of a trophy for the best U21 player, the Kopa Trophy. It is named after the 1958 Ballon d’Or winner, Frenchman Raymond Kopa, and was launched in 2018. Since then, the Golden Boy and Kopa Trophy winners have been the same every year.

There is also a Golden Boy Web voted for by fans online. Voting takes place here. The winners of this award differed from the Golden Boy winner, as in 2022 when Roma’s Nicola Zalewski, the Polish full-back, won the Web Award and Barcelona’s Spanish midfielder Gavi won the Golden Boy. Only Bellingham has managed to win the Golden Boy and Golden Boy Web.

(Top photo: Alex Caparros/Getty Images)