Arjun Menon
The awards, run by Italian newspaper Tuttosport, recognise the best under-21 footballers in Europe. To be eligible for the 2025 editions players must have been born on or after 1 January 2005 and belong to a squad in one of UEFA’s top 25 leagues.Although 18-year-old Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal remains age-eligible, he is not on this year’s list because a player cannot win the Golden Boy twice. Past winners of the men’s prize include Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Wayne Rooney; the women’s award has been claimed by the likes of Jule Brand and Linda Caicedo.
Premier League representation
Nine players currently linked with Premier League clubs are on the Golden Boy shortlist. The group blends defensive prospects and attacking talents: Arsenal’s left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly and midfielder Ethan Nwaneri; Tottenham pair Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray; Chelsea’s forward Estevão and defender Jorrel Hato; Manchester United centre-back Leny Yoro; Manchester City full-back Nico O’Reilly; and Liverpool centre-half Giovanni Leoni.
Nico O’Reilly, 20, has been involved with the senior England squad and was included in the recent international call-ups, though he is yet to make his first-team debut for his club.
Another name to watch is defender Dean Huijsen, who moved to Real Madrid from Bournemouth during the summer.
Leading contenders
Among the frontrunners for Golden Boy is Paris Saint-Germain forward Desire Doue, fresh from a Champions League-winning campaign and a 14th-place finish in the Ballon d’Or voting. Jobe Bellingham — who helped Sunderland reach the Premier League via the play-offs before moving to Borussia Dortmund — is also on the list. His brother Jude won the award in 2023.
How the winners are chosen
A panel of 50 selected sports journalists across Europe will vote to decide the winners.
Golden Boy 2025 nominees
- Pau Cubarsí – Barcelona
- Dean Huijsen – Real Madrid
- Arda Güler – Real Madrid
- Franco Mastantuono – Real Madrid
- Desire Doue – Paris St-Germain
- Warren Zaire-Emery – Paris St-Germain
- Senny Mayulu – Paris St-Germain
- Kenan Yildiz – Juventus
- Ethan Nwaneri – Arsenal
- Myles Lewis-Skelly – Arsenal
- Jorrel Hato – Chelsea
- Estevão – Chelsea
- Lucas Bergvall – Tottenham Hotspur
- Archie Gray – Tottenham Hotspur
- Geovany Quenda – Sporting
- Leny Yoro – Manchester United
- Nico O’Reilly – Manchester City
- Jobe Bellingham – Borussia Dortmund
- Francesco Pio Esposito – Inter
- Rodrigo Mora – Porto
- Giovanni Leoni – Liverpool
- Aleksandar Stankovic – Club Brugge
- Eliesse Ben Seghir – Bayer Leverkusen
- Victor Froholdt – Porto
- Mamadou Sarr – Strasbourg
Golden Girl 2025 nominees
- Michelle Agyemang – Brighton (on loan from Arsenal)
- Iman Beney – Manchester City
- Giulia Galli – Roma
- Eva Schatzer – Juventus
- Signe Gaupset – Brann
- Smilla Holmberg – Hammarby
- Felicia Schröder – Häcken
- Wieke Kaptein – Chelsea
- Nina Mtaejic – Zenit St Petersburg
- Lily Yohannes – Lyon
The winners will be revealed after the journalists’ vote. The lists highlight the depth of young talent across Europe and the strong pipeline of players emerging from England’s top clubs.