European Golden Boy shortlist: Liverpool & Leeds Utd stars included - nominees, previous winners

The European Golden Boy winner is likely to be announced later this year.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The European Golden Boy 2022 top 20 shortlist has been confirmed today as some of the world’s best youngsters look to get their hands on one of the most prestigious awards in football. The winner is determined by votes and will be decided by some of Europe’s top sports journalist, with Fabrizio Romano already confirming he has placed his vote.

To be nominated for the award, a player must be under the age of 21 and must play in a European top division club. Since the award was created in 2003, the likes of Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have all earned the crown.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There is yet to be confirmation when the ceremony will take place, however it was November when Pedri became the latest Golden Boy winner last year and he went onto receive his prize in a event in Turin the following month.

Here are the 20 players remaining in the final shortlist...

Who has been nominated for European Golden Boy 2022?

The nominations for the European Golden Boy have been wittled down to only 20, with a number of Europe’s most promising starlets failing to make the cut. Harvey Elliott, Anthony Elanga and Marcus Marquinhos are some of the players that were omitted from the shortlist.

• Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund)

• Antonio Silva (Benfica)

• Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)

• Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)

• Fabio Carvalho (Liverpool)

• Ansu Fati (Barcelona)

• Gavi (Barcelona)

• Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds)

• Ryan Gravenberch (Bayern)

• Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig)

• Fabio Miretti (Juventus)

• Jamal Musiala (Bayern)

• Nico (Valencia)

• Nuno Mendes (PSG)

• Pedri (Barcelona)

• Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta)

• Benjamin SESKO (RB Salzburg)

• Mathys Tel (Bayern)

• Destiny Udogie (Udinese)

• Nicola Zalewski (Roma)

Previous winners

The European Golden Boy has a history of awarding players that have gone onto be some of the best in footballing history. Some of the most successful stars include Messi, Cesc Fabregas and the first ever winner in Rafael van der Vaart - while some of the players that arguably didn’t reach their potential include Mario Balotelli and Anthony Martial.

Here is a list of all the previous winners...

• 2003 - Rafael van der Vaart (Ajax)

• 2004 - Wayne Rooney (Everton/Man United)

• 2005 - Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

• 2006 - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

• 2007 - Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)

• 2008 - Anderson (Man United)

• 2009 - Alexandre Pato (AC Milan)

• 2010 - Mario Balotelli (Inter Milan/Man City)

• 2011 - Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund)

• 2012 - Isco (Malaga)

• 2013 - Paul Pogba (Juventus)

• 2014 - Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

• 2015 - Anthony Martial (Monaco/Man Utd)

• 2016 - Renato Sanches (Benfica/Bayern)

• 2017 - Kylian Mbappe (Monaco/PSG)

• 2018 - Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax)

• 2019 - Joao Felix (Benfica/Atletico Madrid)

• 2020 - Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)

• 2021 - Pedri (Barcelona)

Who are the favourites to win?

Jude Bellingham is a hot favourite to win the award after a spectacular couple of years with Borussia Dortmund. The 19-year-old earned himself a big money move to Germany in 2020 and has been on fire ever since.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bellingham was named in the VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season last time out and is looking even better this season, scoring four goals in four Champions League matches. The midfielder’s form has also made him one of the first names on the teamsheet for England ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The Birmingham-born star is likely to be competing with Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga for the trophy, with the teenager currently plying his trade in Spain with Real Madrid. Camavinga enjoyed a brilliant breakthrough season with Rennes during the 2020-21 campaign, before joining the Spanish giants and has already won the La Liga, the Supercopa de Espana, the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup.

Another favourite is likely to be Jamal Musiala, who is currently tearing it up for Bayern Munich. The 19-year-old has become one of their key players this season and has already bagged nine goal contributions in eight league matches.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.