Golden Boy 2023: The final 25-player shortlist revealed

The 25 nominees for the 2023 Golden Boy award have been unveiled, with the likes of Jude Bellingham & Jamal Musiala battling it out for the prestigious prize.

Barcelona duo Pedri and Gavi won the award in 2021 and 2022 respectively and therefore are no longer eligible this year, clearing the path for a new winner.

Xavi’s side do still have two players up for this year’s award. Left-back Alejandro Balde makes the cut, while 16-year-old winger Lamine Yamal has also been included as a wildcard.

Player

Club

Jude Bellingham

Real Madrid

Jamal Musiala

Bayern Munich

Xavi Simons

RB Leipzig

Antonio Silva

Benfica

Alejandro Balde

Barcelona

Florian Wirtz

Bayer Leverkusen

Benjamin Sesko

RB Leipzig

Giorgio Scalvini

Atalanta

Rasmus Hojlund

Manchester United

Levi Colwill

Chelsea

Johan Bakayoko

PSV Eindhoven

Milos Kerkez

Bournemouth

Arthur Vermeeren

Royal Antwerp

Evan Ferguson

Brighton & Hove Albion

Lucas Gourna-Douath

Red Bull Salzburg

Warren Zaire-Emery

PSG

Ousmane Diomande

Sporting CP

Arnau Martinez

Girona

Mathys Tel

Bayern Munich

Andy Diouf

Lens

Arda Guler

Real Madrid

Bilal El Khannouss

Genk

Martin Baturina

Dinamo Zagreb

Joao Neves

Benfica

Lamine Yamal

Barcelona

There are some huge names battling for the award. Bellingham and Musiala are early favourites but Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery and loanee Xavi Simons, who is shining with RB Leipzig, will both fancy their chances.

Chelsea’s Levi Colwill and Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund both make the cut, and fans of English football can keep an eye out for Brighton striker Evan Ferguson and Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.

Royal Antwerp midfielder Arthur Vermeeren is slowly establishing himself as a household name. The Belgian youngster is a long-time target for Barcelona but 90min understands Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have all taken a liking to him.

Many of the game’s top young talents have won the Golden Boy award in the past. Alongside Gavi and Pedri, the trophy has gone home with Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Joao Felix and Matthijs de Ligt in the past four years.

Any player who has already won the award is no longer eligible for nomination.

Year

Winner

Club

2003

Rafael van der Vaart

Ajax

2004

Wayne Rooney

Manchester United

2005

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

2006

Cesc Fabregas

Arsenal

2007

Sergio Aguero

Atletico Madrid

2008

Anderson

Manchester United

2009

Alexandre Pato

AC Milan

2010

Mario Balotelli

Manchester City

2011

Mario Gotze

Borussia Dortmund

2012

Isco

Malaga

2013

Paul Pogba

Juventus

2014

Raheem Sterling

Liverpool

2015

Anthony Martial

Manchester United

2016

Renato Sanches

Bayern Munich

2017

Kylian Mbappe

PSG

2018

Matthijs de Ligt

Ajax

2019

Joao Felix

Atletico Madrid

2020

Erling Haaland

Borussia Dortmund

2021

Pedri

Barcelona

2022

Gavi

Barcelona

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