by Newsroom
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WINNERS
At the Piedmont Region Skyscraper, Tuttosport unveiled the 22nd edition of the European Golden Boy award, setting the stage for the ceremony scheduled for December 16 at the National Automobile Museum in Turin.
EUROPEAN GOLDEN BOY
The European Golden Boy, a football award established in 2003 from an idea by journalist Massimo Franchi, is dedicated to the best under-21 player competing in a European team. Last year’s winner was Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, following in the footsteps of Gavi, Pedri, Haaland, Joao Felix, De Ligt, Mbappé, Renato Sanches, Martial, Sterling, Pogba, Isco, Götze, Balotelli, Pato, Anderson, Agüero, Fabregas, Messi, Rooney, and Van der Vaart.
THE 2024 JOURNEY
The Golden Boy Football Benchmark Index is a ranking of the top 100 under-21 players, updated periodically to track players’ performances based on objective data, including playing time, transfers, and performances for their national teams and clubs. This ensures a constantly updated snapshot of the European football scene.
The official presentation of the Index took place in June in Solomeo, hosted by Brunello Cucinelli during a three-day event of sports, discussions, and insights featuring prominent figures from the national and international football landscape. This marked the beginning of the journey toward selecting the winner.
In the latest update of the Index, published in October and announced in Rome at Casina Poste, the top 20 players from the Index—along with 5 players granted wild card entries—formed the list of finalists submitted to the jury. This jury comprises 50 international journalists from the most prestigious sports outlets.
THE JOURNALISTS’ JURY
The list of 25 finalists was submitted to the journalists’ jury to determine the European Golden Boy Absolute Best, based on the total of preferences assigned with votes ranging from 1 to 10. To ensure transparency, the votes of each jury member will be published on Tuttosport and tuttosport.com on December 16.
AWARD DECIDED BY THE JOURNALISTS’ JURY VOTES
- ABSOLUTE BEST: LAMINE YAMAL
The best italian in the Golden Boy Football Benchmark Index is
- BEST ITALIAN GOLDEN BOY: MICHAEL KAYODE
THE BOARD OF LEGENDS
The Board of Legends (comprised of President Lina Souloukou and Vice President Massimo Mauro, along with Stephane Chapuisat, Alessandro Costacurta, Cesc Fabregas, Diana Langes-Swarovski, Lothar Matthaus, Pavel Nedved, Manuel Rui Costa, Andriy Shevchenko, Hristo Stoichkov, and Juan Sebastian Veron) awards the following prizes.
AWARDS ASSIGNED BY THE BOARD OF LEGENDS
- GOLDEN PLAYER MAN: TONI KROOS
- GOLDEN PLAYER WOMAN: AITANA BONMATI
- BEST EUROPEAN PRESIDENT: ANTONIO PERCASSI
- BEST EUROPEAN MANAGER: TXIKI BEGIRISTAIN
THE WEB AWARD
Significant attention is given to the Golden Boy Web award, chosen by users of europeangoldenboy.com and tuttosport.com. In past years, winners have included Kluivert, Guendouzi, Ansu Fati, Adeyemi, Zalewski, and Bellingham. This year, the milestone of one million votes was once again surpassed, confirming the growing interest that fans also dedicate to this award.
- GOLDEN BOY WEB: KENAN YILDIZ
European Golden Boy has also presented the following awards
- BEST ITALIAN GOLDEN GIRL: GIULIA DRAGONI
- GOLDEN GIRL ABSOLUTE BEST: VICKY LOPEZ
- BEST AGENT: JORGE MENDES
EUROPEAN GOLDEN BOY ABSOLUTE BEST – LAMINE YAMAL
They could also make a film about him or a series titled “The Eraser,” just like the title of a solo album by Thom Yorke, the “frontman” of Radiohead. Because the super talent from Barcelona, Lamine Yamal (a name which in Arabic literally means “beautiful protector”) was born to break records. He has even surpassed the king of football himself: the legend Pelé. This happened during Euro ’24 in Germany, when the number 19 of Spain (and Barça) scored a fairytale goal against Maignan in the semifinal in Munich against France, becoming the youngest scorer in history at both the European Championship and World Cup level. The 2007-born player scored on July 9th at 16 years, 11 months, and 28 days, while “O Rei” had scored his first World Cup goal (in Sweden ’58, against Wales) at 17 years, 7 months, and 18 days.
And Lamine, who became European champion with “La Roja” and is now a leader in La Liga, has set another incredible record with the Golden Boy 2024 “Absolute Best” award, which will be presented to him at the climax of the gala in Turin on December 16th. The “blaugrana” gem has earned a staggering 488 points (out of a maximum of 500) based on the votes of the authoritative jury of Tuttosport, made up of 50 journalists from major European publications, representing 26 nations. He surpassed the previous record set just 12 months ago by Bellingham with 485 points. An incredible 48 out of 50 jurors placed “Lamine Letal,” as he’s been dubbed by the Spanish media, at the top of their 5 preferences: a sensational 97.6% of the votes, a total landslide. The Spaniard more than quadrupled the score of the second-place finisher, Englishman Mainoo from Manchester United, who scored 114 points. Third place went to Zaïre-Emery from PSG with 88. Last year, Bellingham’s advantage over second-placed Musiala was exactly 200 points, a significant gap. But twelve months later, now, the gap between Lamine and Mainoo is an abyss, a chasm: 374 points of difference. A terrifying gap.
His surname, which is also double, for the record, is Nasraoui Ebana, the first being from his father Mounir (a former painter) and the second from his mother Sheila (a former waitress). But don’t worry: he will always just be Lamine Yamal. And don’t be surprised if, in a year or two, he becomes the most expensive footballer of all time: his powerful agent, Jorge Mendes, Golden Agent 2024, could pave the way for a monster transfer worth 250 million euros to PSG…
4) GOLDEN GIRL ABSOLUTE BEST – VICKY LOPEZ
Victoria Lopez Serrano Felix, known to everyone simply as Vicky Lopez, is the woman of records—or rather, the girl of records, given that she is just 18 years old. Born on July 26, 2006, in the Vallecas neighborhood of Madrid to a Nigerian mother and a Spanish father, the Barcelona attacking midfielder has already torn through countless pages of the record books.
The youngest player to debut in the Liga Femenina? Yes, that’s her—at just 15 years old while playing for Madrid CFF, the club where she was nurtured and developed season after season. The youngest player to wear Barcelona’s jersey in an official match? Also her, on September 17, 2022, during the game against Granadilla Tenerife, when she was just 16 years and 49 days old. And the youngest player to participate in the iconic Clasico against Real Madrid? Again, her—achieving the record in November last year, a feat unmatched even when compared to the men’s teams. The youngest to make her Champions League debut with Barcelona? Of course—it was her, stepping onto the grand stage on December 21, 2022, against Sweden’s Rosengard.
In short, Vicky Lopez is as talented as she is precocious. A player who thrives in exploring the opponent’s half of the field and creating danger in the most offensive zones. Naturally, this means even more records. The youngest player to score a goal for Barcelona? Yes, once again, her, thanks to a strike on January 25, 2023, in a decisive win against Levante Las Planas. In the 2023/2024 season, she also notched her first goal in the Clasico, the match of matches.
Her record-breaking streak continues in the Spanish National Team jersey. With the Under-17 team, she won a World Cup and played in two European Championship finals. Her senior debut came on February 23, 2024, against the Netherlands, in the Nations League semifinal, which Spain went on to win a few days later. Naturally, this debut was the youngest in the history of the Spanish national team.
