The 25 finalists for the 2023 Golden Boy award include Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham, Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund, and Chelsea defender Levi Colwill.
The award is granted to the finest player under the age of 21 in Europe over the previous 12 months, with Barcelona’s Gavi earning it last year. A total of 100 players were selected in the summer, and that number has now been reduced to 25 ahead of a December ceremony.
The Italian daily Tuttosport launched the prize in 2003, and previous recipients include Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Wayne Rooney. The Golden Boy Index selects 20 contenders, including Bellingham, Hojlund, and Colwill.
Gavi is placed fourth in the Football Benchmark Index, but does not make the shortlist owing to last year’s performance. Tuttosport journalists have also suggested five wildcard candidates.
Arda Guler of Real Madrid, Bilal El Khannouss of Genk, Martin Baturina of Dinamo Zagreb, Joao Neves of Benfica, and Lamine Yanal of Barcelona are this year’s wildcard nominees.
Four of the 25 players are Premier League players, with Brighton striker Evan Ferguson and Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez, who came from AZ Alkmaar this summer, also making the shortlist alongside Hojlund and Colwill.
With five candidates each, La Liga and the Bundesliga have the most, while Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Benfica each have more than one. The awards event will be held on December 4 in Turin, although the winner will be announced in November.
Bellingham is the leader for this year’s prize, having thrived at Borussia Dortmund before joining Real Madrid in a big-money move in June. And the 20-year-old has grown in stature at the Bernabeu.
He has ten goals in ten games for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in all competitions, equaling Cristiano Ronaldo’s record, but will have competition from the likes of Jamal Musiala, Antonio Silva, Xavi Simons, and Alejandro Balde.
Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala, Xavi Simons, Antonio Silva, Alejandro Balde, Florian Wirtz, Benjamin Sesko, Giorgio Scalvini, Rasmus Hojlund, Levi Colwill, Johan Bakayoko, Milos Kerkez, Arthur Vermeeren, Evan Ferguson, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Warren Zaire-Emery, Ousmane Diomande, Arnau Martinez, Mathys Tel, Andy