The Golden Boy award is a prestigious honour bestowed upon the best young footballer in Europe under the age of 21.
The nominees for this award are selected based on their performances for their respective clubs and countries for a calendar year (January to December).
This award was first established by the Italian sports newspaper called Tuttosport in 2003 when Rafael van der Vaart first won it.
Who has won it since then right up until 2022?
BestofBets take a look!
Every Golden Boy winner in history from 2003 to 2022
Yr |
Winner |
Nation |
Club(s) |
Position |
|
| 2003 | Rafael van der Vaart | Netherlands | Ajax | MID | 1983 |
| 2004 | Wayne Rooney | England | Everton, Manchester United | FW | 1985 |
| 2005 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona | FW | 1987 |
| 2006 | Cesc Fàbregas | Spain | Arsenal | MID | 1987 |
| 2007 | Sergio Agüero | Argentina | Atlético Madrid | FW | 1988 |
| 2008 | Anderson | Brazil | Manchester United | MID | 1988 |
| 2009 | Alexandre Pato | Brazil | AC Milan | FW | 1989 |
| 2010 | Mario Balotelli | Italy | Inter Milan, Manchester City | FW | 1990 |
| 2011 | Mario Götze | Germany | Borussia Dortmund | MID | 1992 |
| 2012 | Isco | Spain | Málaga | MID | 1992 |
| 2013 | Paul Pogba | France | Juventus | MID | 1993 |
| 2014 | Raheem Sterling | England | Liverpool | FW | 1994 |
| 2015 | Anthony Martial | France | AS Monaco, Manchester United | FW | 1995 |
| 2016 | Renato Sanches | Portugal | Benfica, Bayern Munich | MID | 1997 |
| 2017 | Kylian Mbappé | France | Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain | FW | 1998 |
| 2018 | Matthijs de Ligt | Netherlands | Ajax | DEF | 1999 |
| 2019 | João Félix | Portugal | Benfica | FW | 1999 |
| 2020 | Erling Haaland | Norway | Borussia Dortmund | FW | 2000 |
| 2021 | Pedri | Spain | Barcelona | MID | 2002 |
| 2022 | Gavi | Spain | Barcelona | MID | 2004 |
The 2023 Golden Boy award will be announced at the Ballon d’Or ceremony which takes place in October.
You can check out more content like this in our comprehensive BestofBets’ football section.
