Rafael van der Vaart of the Netherlands earned the first Golden Boy award in 2003, while Barcelona midfielder Pedri is the most recent winner of the prized accolade, know the all time winners list
In football, the Golden Boy award is given to the finest under-21 player currently playing in Europe. The nominees for this renowned individual prize must perform admirably during the course of a calendar year, which consists of two seasons divided into two halves. They must be playing in Europe’s top-tier countries as well.
Golden Boy Football Award Winners List, History, Voting Rules
In 2003, the Italian publication Tuttosport established the Golden Boy award. After excelling with Dutch heavyweights Ajax at the time, Rafael van der Vaart earned the first-ever Golden Boy award.
Pedri, a Barcelona midfielder, is the club’s first Golden Boy winner since Lionel Messi in 2005.
What criteria are used to choose who gets to be the Golden Boy?
A jury of sports journalists from Bild (Germany), Blick (Switzerland), A Bola (Portugal), L’Equipe and France Football (France), Marca and Mundo Deportivo (Spain), Ta Nea (Greece), Sport Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Netherlands), and The Times of London selects the winner of this award (United Kingdom).
Each jury is asked to nominate five players, and points are awarded in the order in which the nominations are received. For example, they receive 10 points for the player they rank first, 7 points for second, 5 points for third, 3 points for fourth, and 1 point for fifth.
To guarantee that other young players have a chance, a player can only win the Golden Boy award once. So, if a player wins the prize as a teenager, as Kylian Mbappe did, despite being under-21 and playing in Europe’s top leagues, he can no longer be considered for the award the following year.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has never received the Golden Boy award. However, it is his side, Manchester United, that has the most winners, with Wayne Rooney (2004), Anderson (2008), and Anthony Martial (2015).
In the meantime, France has produced the most Golden Boy champions (3). Furthermore, since its establishment, the award has gone to as many as ten strikers, eight midfielders, and only one defender.
Matthijs de Ligt, a former Ajax defender, was chosen the Golden Boy for the first and only time in 2018.
Winners of the Golden Boy Awards
| Year | Player | Team |
| 2003 | Rafael van der Vaart | Ajax |
| 2004 | Wayne Rooney | Everton and Manchester United |
| 2005 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona |
| 2006 | Cesc Fabregas | Arsenal |
| 2007 | Sergio Aguero | Atletico Madrid |
| 2008 | Anderson | Manchester United |
| 2009 | Alexandre Pato | Milan |
| 2010 | Mario Balotelli | Inter and Manchester City |
| 2011 | Mario Gotze | Borussia Dortmund |
| 2012 | Isco | Malaga |
| 2013 | Paul Pogba | Juventus |
| 2014 | Raheem Sterling | Liverpool |
| 2015 | Anthony Martial | Monaco and Manchester United |
| 2016 | Renato Sanches | Benfica and Bayern Munich |
| 2017 | Kylian Mbappe | Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2018 | Matthijs de Ligt | Ajax |
| 2019 | Joao Felix | Benfica and Atletico Madrid |
| 2020 | Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund |
| 2021 | Pedri | Barcelona |