The Golden Boy is an accolade given by sports journalists to a young footballer in Europe who has been deemed the most remarkable over the course of a calendar year (two halves to two separate seasons). All nominees must be under the age of 21 and play in the top division of a European country. Tuttosport, an Italian sports daily, launched the award in 2003. Bild (Germany), Blick (Switzerland), A Bola (Portugal), l'Équipe (France), France Football (France), Marca (Spain), Mundo Deportivo (Spain), Ta Nea (Greece), Sport Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Netherlands), and The Times (UK) are among the newspapers that now engage in voting (United Kingdom).
Some of the past champions have gone on to achieve greatness. Early winners of the competition, which began in 2003, included Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney, and Cesc Fabregas. There are, however, always some victors whose careers do not turn out as planned. Although the awards are presented at the end of the year, the process of narrowing down the nominees begins far earlier. The first 100 nominations were revealed in June. Let's take a look at the top 100 players who have been nominated for the coveted honour.
Karim-David Adeyemi (RB Salzburg, Germany)
Lucien Jefferson Agoume (Inter, France)
Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolverhampton, France-Algeria)
Marley Ake (Juventus, France)
Faustino Adebola Rasheed Anjorin (Chelsea, England-Nigeria)
Adil Aouchiche (AS Saint-Étienne, France)
Benoit Mukinayi Badiashile (AS Monaco, France)
Youssouph Badji (Bruges, Senegal)
Folarin Jerry Balogun (Arsenal, England-USA)
Ander Muguruza Barrenetxea (Real Sociedad, Spain)
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, England)
Adrián Garcia Bernabe (Manchester City, Spain)
Stipe Biuk (Hajduk Split, Croatian)
Myron Boadu (AZ, Netherlands)
Brian Ebenezer Adjei Brobbey (RB Leipzig, Netherlands)
Armando Broja (Chelsea, England-Albania)
Riccardo Calafiori (AS Roma, Italy)
Eduardo Camavinga (Stade Rennais, France)
Rayan Cherki (Olympique Lyonnais, France)
Francisco Fernandes da Conceição (FC Porto, Portugal)
Tanguy Coulibaly (Stuttgart, France)
Cosimo Marco da Graca (Juventus, Italy-Portugal)
Ebrima Darboe (AS Roma, Gambia)
Charles de Ketelaere (Bruges, Belgium)
Ersin Destanoglu (Besiktas, Turkey)
Amad Diallo (Manchester United, Ivory Coast)
Jérémy Doku (Stade Rennais, Belgium)
Radu Matei Dragusin (Juventus, Romania)
Úmaro Embalo (Benfica, Portugal)
Sebastiano Esposito (Inter, Italy)
Fabio Silva (Wolverhampton, Portugal)
Nicolò Fagioli (Juventus, Italy)
Félix Correia (Juventus, Portugal)
Eric Martret Garcia (FC Barcelona, Spain)
Bryan Salvatierra Gil (Sevilla FC, Spain)
Billy Gilmour (Chelsea, Scotland)
Gonçalo Ramos (Benfica, Portugal)
Ryan Jiro Gravenberch (Ajax, Netherlands)
Mason Greenwood (Manchester United, England)
Miguel Ortega Gutierrez (Real Madrid, Spain)
Joško Gvardiol (RB Leipzig, Croatia)
Aaron Buchanan Hickey (Bologna, Scotland)
Adam Hlozek (Sparta Prague, Czech R.)
Mohamed Amine Ihattaren (PSV, Netherlands-Morocco)
Ilaix Moriba (FC Barcelona, Spain)
Ivan Ilic (Hellas, Serbia)
Joelson Fernandes (Sporting CP, Portugal)
Curtis Jones (Liverpool, England)
Odilon Kossounou (Bruges, Ivory Coast)
Tanguy-Austin Nianzou Kouassi (Bayern Munich, France)
Kang-in Lee (Valencia CF, South Korea)
Isaac Lihadji (Lille, France)
Luis Henrique (Olympique de Marseille, Brazil)
Daniel Maldini (AC Milan, Italy)
Darian Males (Inter, Switzerland-Serbia)
Felix Khonde Mambimbi (YB Berne, Switzerland-Congo)
Filip Marchwinski (Lech Poznan, Poland)
Marcos Paulo(Atlético de Madrid, Portugal-Brazil)
Antonio Marin (Dinamo Zagreb, Croatian)
Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal, Brazil)
Aïmen Moueffek (AS Saint-Étienne, France-Morocco)
Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund, Germany)
Yunus Musah (Valencia CF, USA)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Nuno Mendes (Sporting, Portugal)
Pedri (FC Barcelona, Spain)
Pietro Pellegri (AS Monaco, Italy)
Roberto Piccoli (Atalanta, Italy)
Yeremi Jesús Santos Pino (Villarreal, Spain)
Nicolas Thierry Raskin (Standard de Liège, Belgium)
Reinier (Borussia Dortmund, Brazil)
Devyne Fabian Jairo Rensch (Ajax, Netherlands)
Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund, USA)
Bryan Keith Reynolds (AS Roma, USA)
Rodrygo (Real Madrid, Brazil)
Nicolò Rovella (Juventus, Italy)
Georginio Rutter (Hoffenheim, France)
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, England)
Eddie Anthony Mora Salcedo (Inter, Italy-Colombia)
William Saliba (Arsenal, France)
Lazar Vujadin Samardzic (RB Leipzig, Germany-Serbia)
Xavi Simmons (Paris SG, Netherlands)
Filip Stevanovic (Manchester City, Serbia)
Luke Jonathan Thomas (Leicester City, England)
Khéphren Thuram-Ulien (OGC Nice, France)
Tiago Tomas (Sporting CP, Portugal)
Jurriën David Norman Timber (Ajax, Netherlands)
Alex Emilio Timossi Andersson (Bayern Munich, Sweden)
El Bilal Toure (Stade de Reims, Mali)
Lassina Traore (Ajax, Burkina Faso)
Anatoliy Volodymyrovych Trubin (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine)
Adrien Truffert (Stade Rennais, France-Belgium)
Konstantinos Tzolakis (Olympiakos, Greece)
Christos Tzolis (PAOK, Greece)
Germán Karabinaite Valera (Atlético de Madrid, Spain)
Yari Verschaeren (Anderlecht, Belgium)
Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany)
Illya Borysovych Zabarnyi (Dynamo Kiev, Ukraine)
