Golden Boy 2026: the list of the 25 nominees (official)

This Monday evening, Italian newspaper Tuttosport revealed the 25 nominees for the 2026 Golden Boy award. The trophy rewards the best player under the age of 21.

Following Parisian Désiré Doué's triumph last year, three French talents feature on this list. They are Borussia Dortmund centre-back Joane Gadou, Paris Saint-Germain versatile midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery and Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi.

Manchester City midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, Real Madrid winger Yan Diomandé and Chelsea winger Estêvão also feature on the list.

The list of the 25 nominees for the 2026 Golden Boy award:

Pau Cubarsi (FC Barcelona / Spain)

Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City / Morocco)

Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Yan Diomandé (Real Madrid / Ivory Coast)

Luka Vuskovic (Brighton / Croatia)

Victor Froholdt (FC Porto / Denmark)

Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal / England)

Rayan (Bournemouth / Brazil)

Jorrel Hato (Chelsea / Netherlands)

Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich / Germany)

Estêvão (Chelsea / Brazil)

Endrick (Real Madrid / Brazil)

Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth / France)

Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica / Argentina)

Konstantinos Karetsas (Borussia Dortmund / Greece)

Saïd El Mala (Cologne / Germany)

Jon Martín (Real Sociedad / Spain)

Marc Bernal (FC Barcelona / Spain)

Kerim Alajbegovic (Juventus / Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Finn Jeltsch (Stuttgart / Germany)

Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton / Greece)

Joane Gadou (Borussia Dortmund / France)

Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina / Argentina)

Rodrigo Mora (AS Roma / Portugal)

Xavi Espart (FC Barcelona / Spain)

Read also: Benin: Marcel Dandjinou issues a warning to Lionel Messi

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.