by Newsroom

The podium with Joao Neves and Alejandro Garnacho, who won the Copa America, is also confirmed. The Premier League takes 1/5 of the ranking: the list of 25 finalists in October

The victory with Spain at the 2024 European Championship strengthens Lamine Yamal’s first place in the fifth update of the Golden Boy Football Benchmark Index, another step towards the election of the European Golden Boy 2024. The Barcelona talent, who has just turned 17, remains the leader of the ranking, with Joao Neves and Alejandro Garnacho, the Copa America winner with Argentina, confirmed on the podium.

After transferring to Manchester United, Yoro rises to fourth place and Cubarsì (Barcelona) moves into the top ten, surpassing Pavlovic in eighth place: Arda Güler continues his “climb,” gaining two more positions (12th), although the most significant leap forward involves two players in the lower-middle part of the ranking. Mateus Fernandes (Sporting), who rose from 65th to 57th position, and Pafundi (Lausanne), who, thanks to his performances with Italy at the 2019 European Championship, gained eight positions (from 99th to 91st).

Compared to a month ago, there are four new entries: Saltykov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Ben Harush (Hapoel Haifa), Kalogeropoulos (Volos), and Dorgu (Lecce).

The Premier League confirms itself as the most represented league: 20 players in the GBFB Index play in England. Brighton continues to lead this ranking (with 7 players), but the Manchester derby is especially heating up: due to recent market operations (Yoro and Savio), the three United players and two City players are all in the top ten. Behind the English league, Ligue 1 (12 players) is confirmed, tied with the Belgian Pro League, followed by La Liga (10 players).

Thanks to the collaboration between Tuttosport and Football Benchmark – the data & analytics partner of the award – the GBFB Index allows constant monitoring of players’ performances, considering objective data such as playing time, transfers, performances in the national team, and their respective clubs. This update (https://www.europeangoldenboy.com/golden-boy-footballbenchmark-index/) considers matches played up to July 26. The next update is scheduled for September 5, 2024.

In October, the 25 finalists will be announced (the top 20 of the GFBF Index along with 5 wild cards assigned among the 80 excluded), among which the international jury of journalists will elect the Absolute Best 2024.

GOLDEN BOY WEB
With this update, the second round of the Golden Boy Web begins, the award assigned by fans worldwide through a survey available on tuttosport.com. So far, the most voted player has been Cologne defender Finkgrafe, followed by Borussia Dortmund’s Moukoko and Yamal. Last year, Bellingham won, becoming the first in history to win both the Absolute Best and the Golden Boy Web. The survey is reset with each update of the GBFB Index: the final winner will be determined by the sum of all votes collected in each of the planned rounds.