THE RULES OF GOLDEN BOY
Cooming soon

NO RE-ELECTION FOR THE WINNER
There is no written rule, but this is customary, indeed convention. Whoever wins the Golden Boy cannot be re-elected the following year (or years), even if they are within the permitted age limit. The roll of honour speaks for itself: 21 editions, 21 different winners. As an example, Messi triumphed in 2005 at the age of 18, but was never voted champion again. Because from that moment on, the ‘Flea’ was no longer a young talent to be launched, but a real star, a Ballon d’Or winner. In fact, he went on to win no fewer than six Ballon d’Or, the last (disputed) in September 2019 at La Scala in Milan. Golden Boy as a springboard into an extraterrestrial orbit. The same happened with De Ligt (not re-elected after his 2018 triumph) and the year before with Mbappé (conqueror of the 2017 edition) despite the fact that they were still within the age limit to be eligible to win again. This year, however, the possibility of the holder retaining his sceptre is officially ruled out: the Norwegian Erling Haaland, who won last December, was born in 2000, will turn 21 in July and is therefore excluded a priori from the nominations.