2024 Golden Boy award nominees: La Liga players dominate list

The 2024 Golden Boy award nominees list has been released by Italian outlet Tuttosport with 100 young football players making the cut.

Golden Boy award is given to Europe’s brightest Under-21 talent during the calendar year with the inaugural edition won by Rafael van der Vaart in 2003.

Top players like Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have all gone on to win the award and a new winner will emerge this year.

La Liga players dominated the list with Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal currently the favourite to win the award. Yamal is joined on the list by teammates Pedri, Gavi, Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal and Vitor Roque.

Real Madrid have Arda Guler on the longlist, while Atletico Madrid will place their hopes in Arthur Vermeeren and Samu Omorodion, who spent this season on loan at Alaves.

On the other hand, Manchester United’s Garnacho and Mainoo were ranked inside the top 10 of the initial shortlist.

That list will be reduced in October and the award handed out a month later. The award will be voted on by journalists from 30 countries and handed out to the player voted the best under-21 on the continent.

List of Golden Boy Award winners since 2010:

2023 – Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid
2022 – Gavi – Barcelona
2021- Pedri – Barcelona
2020 – Erling Haaland – Borussia Dortmund
2019 – Joao Felfix – Benfica/Atletico Madrid
2018 – Matthijs de Ligt – Ajax
2017 – Kylian Mbappe – Monaco/PSG
2016 – Renato Sanches – Benfica/Bayern
2015 – Anthony Martial – Monaco/United
2014 – Raheem Sterling – Liverpool
2013 – Paul Pogba – Juventus
2012 – Isco – Malaga
2011 – Mario Gotze -Borussia Dortmund
2010 – Mario Balotelli – AC Milan/City