Pedri (19) is still missing for FC Barcelona due to injury, but the Spanish top talent has already picked up his second individual award in the space of a week.
It was only seven days ago that Pedri succeeded Erling Haaland. 40 journalists, who annually select the “most promising U-21 player in Europe” under the leadership of “Tuttosport “, voted the Spaniard the Golden Boy 2021. On Monday, Pedri was also awarded the Kopa trophy for the best player under 21 (deadline: 31 December) at the Ballon d’Or gala.
Pedri is currently unable to play for FC Barcelona due to a muscle injury in his left thigh. Presumably because he simply played too much before: Pedri played his 72nd game of the season at the Olympic final in the 2020/21 season – no one was in action more often. La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League, Supercopa, plus games for Spain at the European Championships and in Japan, among others: the top talent did not miss a beat and was probably stopped abruptly for that reason. Pedri is not expected to be able to attack again until the new year.
For the prominent jury – only former Ballon d’Or winners are eligible to vote – his performances were so impressive that he even left a Bundesliga quartet behind him. The ten-man shortlist included the BVB duo Giovanni Reyna and Jude Bellingham as well as Bayern talent Jamal Musiala and his national team colleague Florian Wirtz (Bayer 04 Leverkusen). Reyna finished in joint ninth place, Wirtz seventh, Musiala third and Bellingham even second.
Followers of Mbappé and de Ligt
Because the 2020 election had fallen victim to the Corona pandemic, the Kopa trophy was awarded for only the third time this year. In 2018, PSG high-flyer Kylian Mbappé had won overwhelmingly (110 points) ahead of Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, 31 points) and Justin Kluivert (Roma, 18 points). In 2019, Juve defender Matthijs de Ligt (58 points) followed, although Dortmund’s pace dribbler Jadon Sancho (49 points) and Atletico’s Joao Felix (41 points) were much closer on his heels. The award is named after former Ballon d’Or winner Raymond Kopa.
The ranking of the ten best talents:
1st Pedri (FC Barcelona, Midfield)
2nd Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, Midfield)
3. Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern, Midfield)
4. Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain, Defence)
5th Mason Greenwood (Manchester United, Attack)
6. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, Attack)
7th Florian Wirtz (Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Midfield)
8. Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax Amsterdam, Midfield)
9th Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund, Midfield)
9. Jeremy Doku (Stade Rennes, Forward)
