The organisers of the Golden Boy Award, Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport, have unveiled the final 25 nominees for the 2026 edition of the prestigious prize awarded annually to the best young footballer in Europe.
Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí is widely regarded as the frontrunner for this year’s award after another outstanding season with the Catalan giants.
The shortlist features some of the brightest talents in world football, including players from top European clubs such as Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Among the notable names on the list is Yan Diomande, who completed a high-profile move from RB Leipzig to Real Madrid during the summer transfer window.
Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery, Chelsea winger Estêvão and Manchester City prospect Ayyoub Bouaddi are also among the leading contenders.
Real Madrid forward Endrick, one of the most highly-rated young players in world football, retained his place on the shortlist, while Barcelona have three representatives in Cubarsí, Marc Bernal and Xavi Espart.
The Golden Boy Award has previously been won by some of football’s biggest stars, including Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Agüero, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal.
The winner of the 2026 edition will be announced later this year following votes from selected European sports journalists.
Full List of Golden Boy 2026 Finalists
- Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City)
- Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Yan Diomande (Real Madrid)
- Luka Vuškovic (Brighton)
- Victor Froholdt (Porto)
- Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal)
- Rayan (Bournemouth)
- Jorrel Hato (Chelsea)
- Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich)
- Estêvão (Chelsea)
- Endrick (Real Madrid)
- Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth)
- Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica)
- Kōnstantinos Karetsas (Borussia Dortmund)
- Saïd El Mala (Köln)
- Jon Martín (Real Sociedad)
- Marc Bernal (Barcelona)
- Kerim Alajbegović (Juventus)
- Finn Jeltsch (Stuttgart)
- Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton)
- Joane Gadou (Borussia Dortmund)
- Rodrigo Mora (Roma)
- Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina, on loan from Real Madrid)
- Xavi Espart (Barcelona)
The final shortlist highlights the growing influence of young players across Europe’s elite leagues, with clubs increasingly placing their faith in emerging talents capable of making an immediate impact at the highest level.
