European Golden Boy award: List of all-time winners of Tuttosport prize as Bellingham claims Under-21 award
Four years before the first of his eight Ballon d'Or wins, Lionel Messi was one of the first recipients of the Golden Boy award, which recognises the best Under-21 player in Europe.
Messi's future teammate at Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe, also took the award in 2017, while the two most recent winners — Gavi last year, and Pedri in 2021 — have made Barcelona the joint-most successful club in Golden Boy history.
Jude Bellingham's win in 2023 means an equal number of midfielders and forwards have triumphed. The Real Madrid midfielder came out on top of the vote for this past year, having won widespread acclaim for his performances in La Liga and for England.
With journalists across the continent voting for a prize for which any young player in the top 25 leagues in Europe may be eligible, it's an estimable award that recognises the best and brightest emerging talent in the game.
The Sporting News takes a look at a few other statistics around the award, including a full list of previous winners.
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Gavi, who was only longlisted this time, followed in the footsteps of an illustrious lineup including Messi, Sergio Aguero, Mbappe and Haaland.
Here's the full list.
Gavi and Pedri's victories put Spain on four wins as the country with the most players to have won the award.
France and England are the next-nearest, with Les Bleus' three wins coming across five years courtesy of Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and Kylian Mbappe.
Bellingham, Raheem Sterling and Wayne Rooney are the English players to have won the award.
Manchester United and Barcelona have three winners each, although Barca could make a case for having the edge on the Premier League side.
Two of the players to have
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