by pressroom

It’s a tight head-to-head, but surprises from further back could come at any moment. The Golden Boy Web 2025, the award assigned by Tuttosport readers to the best Under-21 player in Europe during the calendar year (vote now), is offering a fierce duel between two youngsters with extremely determined fan bases, supported also by the quality of their performances.

At the moment, leading with 378,000 votes is Christos Mouzakitis, a surprising name but not too much so: at 18 years old he already boasts a noteworthy résumé, decisive in 2024 for Olympiacos’ historic Youth League victory, and brought last season into the first team on a regular basis by José Mendilibar. The youngster has become part of the rotation, starting relatively few matches (5 league games out of 23) but giving the impression of constant growth, capped by his Champions League debut (the third youngest ever) and his entrance into the Greek senior national team.

The Greeks are experiencing a moment of great optimism for the future, with the imminent rise of Mouzakitis combined with that of two other youngsters on the Golden Boy Index list of 100 players: his peer Charalambous Kostoulas, Brighton forward and former Olympiacos teammate, ranked 26th in the Index and sixth overall in Golden Boy Web voting, and 17-year-old midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas, who plays for Racing Genk and is essentially Belgian by football upbringing.

Back to Mouzakitis: despite being 42nd in the Index, his provisional first place among the most voted players strengthens the narrative of a Greece–Turkey battle, given that Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz is about 60,000 votes behind and currently his most accredited rival. Both have featured in the Champions League, though on matchday one the Turkish No. 10 shone much more brightly, starring in the 4-4 draw against Borussia Dortmund, while Olympiacos’ team performance was rather lackluster in their surprising draw against Cypriot side Pafos.

And while Greek and Turkish fans (with the not insignificant backing of Juventus supporters worldwide) continue to fuel this head-to-head, it’s worth taking a look at the chasing pack to spot potential third or fourth challengers on the road to the award. More than Serbian ex-Milan player Jan-Carlo Simic, currently third and transferred this past September 10—after the European market closed—from Anderlecht to Saudi side Al-Ittihad, the names to keep an eye on are Arda Güler, the Turkish Real Madrid player whose local fanbase could eat into compatriot Yildiz’s votes, as well as Désiré Doué, 2nd in the Golden Boy Index and 5th in votes. The injury that will sideline him until mid-October could be a handicap in attracting new votes, but his exploits—especially in the first half of the year—speak for themselves.

Then there are the new entries in the Index, players entering the top 100 and thus becoming eligible for votes—lots of votes. The hottest name is without doubt Franco Mastantuono, whom Real Madrid signed from River Plate on his 18th birthday: immediately ranked 20th in the Index, he can now be voted for, and it’s safe to believe he will attract affection (and expectations) from both Argentine and Real Madrid fans.

And for those wanting to vote for Italians? The choice is currently limited to Fiorentina’s Pietro Comuzzo and Liverpool’s Giovanni Leoni, who also in the Golden Boy Index continue the tradition of Italian defenders.