Since 2003, the Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport has awarded the Golden Boy Award to the best U-21 player in Europe. Among the 25 finalists in 2023, a star best known in the Bundesliga emerges as the top favourite
It all started in 2003 with the future HSV player Rafael van der Vaart (then Ajax Amsterdam). Lionel Messi (2005), Mario Götze (2011), Kylian Mbappé (2017) and Erling Haaland three years ago are also among the winners. The criterion: the U-21 players must be under contract with a European club and must not be older than 20 in the entire calendar year. The winners’ gallery serves as an indication that the winner of the award can dream of a world career. Exceptions like Renato Sanches (2016, formerly of FC Bayern) prove the rule.
On Thursday evening, Tuttosport presented this year’s finalists in the picturesque village of Solomeo. For the third time after Wayne Rooney (2004) and Raheem Sterling (2014), an Englishman could lift the trophy: former Dortmund player Jude Bellingham’s furious start at Real Madrid has put him at the top of the ranking from which the finalists emerge. For the first time, an algorithm fed with a lot of data is used. Until the summer, Jamal Musiala of FC Bayern held the pole position; the Munich player is currently in second place. A decision has not yet been made; the winner will be chosen by 40 journalists from football magazines in Europe,
For the Bundesliga, the preliminary decision with Bellingham and Musiala at the top is nevertheless a nice distinction, they are represented by four other players. Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, New Leipzig’s Xavi and Benjamin Sesko are still in the mix, as is Bayern’s Mathys Tel. No other league features five players among Europe’s top 25 talents. With Musiala and Tel, FC Bayern is the only club represented twice.
The worthy setting for this preliminary decision was provided by fashion designer Brunello Cucinelli at his estate. Before the players were announced, Lina Souloukou – the Greek has been CEO of AS Roma since spring – and Beppe Marotta, manager of Inter Milan, were among those on the podium. The winner will be crowned on 4 December in Turin. Anything other than a victory for Bellingham would be a surprise.
