by Tommaso Strano
Nine new entries in the third update of the Golden Boy Football Benchmark Index, but one in particular is destined to climb higher in the rankings: it is Arda Güler, fresh off winning the Champions League with Real Madrid. An incredible end of the season with 5 goals in the last 5 games – made even more unique by the 100% conversion rate of his shots on target (5/5) – earned him entry directly to 19th place, the highest among all the new faces in this update.
The youngest player in the GBFB Index, Lamine Yamal, maintains the top position, and joining him on the podium are Joan Neves (2nd) and FA Cup winner Alejandro Garnacho (3rd), whose teammate Kobbie Mainoo climbs to 7th position.
France confirms its first place both as the most represented nation (11 players) and for talents playing in Ligue 1 (16): Zaïre-Emery falls into both categories, having slipped out of the top 3 but is ready to impress at the 2024 European Championships.
The second most represented nation is Spain (8), which included Pau Cubarsí, ranked 8th, in the preliminary call-ups. Closing the podium is England (7), boasting Champions League finalist with Borussia Dortmund, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (16th).
Serie A maintains 5 representatives in the GBFB Index and improves their positions: Urbanski (Bologna) and Carboni (Monza, on loan from Inter) have gained 3 and 10 places respectively and are currently in 43rd and 66th positions.
The most significant leap forward is by Lewis Hall, who, thanks to regained starting status at Newcastle, has climbed 15 positions in the ranking (from 75th to 60th).
But it is primarily the market value of the GBFB Index that is growing: ahead of a summer window expected to be full of surprises, this tool is certainly a showcase for players as talented as they are promising. The total value of the list has exceeded one and a half billion euros, thanks to an overall increase of 380 million since the last update. Consequently, all the major European leagues have shown a vertical growth in their value: the symbolic case is the Spanish La Liga, which has seen the price of its young players increase by 100 million, making it both the richest league and the one with the greatest economic growth.
