The list of 25 players nominated for the Golden Boy 2025 Award has been made public and features Europe’s young talents, under 21 years old. The yearly award, created by an Italian sports newspaper called Tuttosport in 2003, goes to the best young player in the five major European leagues during a full calendar year— the key point differentiating this award from the Kopa Trophy is that the former is judged over a single season.
The list comprises of 25 players from 13 different countries and 13 clubs, with France having the most nominees (five), and England having four nominees.. The list of nominees is also dominated by Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid players. Each of them has three players on the final list. Without any doubt among the first contenders is Désiré Doué, who was a key figure in PSG’s historic first-ever Champions League victory.
The French player came second in the 2024 Kopa Trophy voting, which was won by Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, who is the only one allowed not to be considered this year since he has already been awarded the 2024 Golden Boy. One of Doué’s wins would only mean him being the second French recipient of the award in the past eight years, and consequently, France would take the lead over England in the total number of times the Golden Boy has been awarded (at the moment, both are at three victories each).
The other candidates with a high chance of winning are the two Real Madrid players Arda Güler and Franco Mastantuono, and Chelsea’s Brazilian wonder kid Estêvão. Also, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, two young players from Arsenal, have been selected, which proves that England is still very strong in the area of youth development.
Tuttosport also revealed five “Wild Card” selections, thus increasing the total nominees to 25. On top of the wild cards, there is Borussia Dortmund’s Jobe Bellingham, who might follow his brother Jude’s 2023 success. Along with him, there are Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter Milan), Rodrigo Mora (Porto), Giovanni Leoni (Liverpool), and Aleksandar Stanković (Club Brugge).
Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal was not included due to the award’s rule of a single-time winner, which forbids repeat victories and thus new talents getting acknowledged. Even if he is left out, the 17-year-old is still one of the most highly regarded young stars in the world.
Another Golden Boy will be given the trophy later this year — the one who will be able to follow the steps of Messi, Mbappé, Haaland, and Bellingham.
