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Golden Boy 2026 - Here Are the 25 Finalists

Golden Boy 2026 - Here Are the 25 Finalists
Pau Cubarsí is the favourite to win this year

The 25 finalists for the 2026 Golden Boy award have finally been confirmed. Looking at which leagues the players come from, it is perhaps no surprise that the Premier League dominates the list, while Spain has the most candidates by nationality and Barcelona are the club with the most players among the finalists as the race to be named Europe's best U21 player enters its decisive stage.

Tuttosport presented the final list on 5 October, and it consists of the 20 highest-ranked eligible players from the October edition of the European Golden Boy Top 100, along with five wildcards selected by the organisers.

One detail that affects the list is 2024 winner Lamine Yamal. The Barcelona star is second in the current Golden Boy index, but because he has already won the award, the rules prevent him from winning it again. That means German player Finn Jeltsch, who sits 21st in the index, becomes the last of the 20 regular finalists.

The five players who have received wildcards from Tuttosport are Charalampos Kostoulas, Joane Gadou, Franco Mastantuono, Rodrigo Mora and Xavi Espart.

The next step is for the panel of journalists to take over. A total of 50 journalists from 27 European countries will vote for the winner by ranking five players each. First place on each ballot is worth ten points, followed by seven, five, three and one point. The winner will be announced in November, while the awards ceremony will be held in Turin in December.

Premier League Has the Most Finalists

The greatest concentration can be found in England. Eight of the 25 finalists play in the Premier League, representing almost a third of all the finalists.

Spain's La Liga follows in second place with six candidates, while the Bundesliga has five. Serie A has three, Liga Portugal two and Ligue 1 just one.

The overall distribution between the leagues is as follows:

This also means that all 25 finalists come from just six leagues. There are no players from other strong leagues such as the Dutch Eredivisie among the final 25.

The Premier League's eight candidates are spread across five clubs: Chelsea, Bournemouth and Brighton have two finalists each, while Arsenal and Manchester City have one apiece.

Barcelona Have the Most Players

At club level, however, Barcelona are the best represented: Pau Cubarsí, Marc Bernal and wildcard player Xavi Espart give the Catalan club three finalists.

Five clubs then have two candidates each: Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Brighton and Borussia Dortmund.

Real Madrid are represented by Yan Diomande and Endrick, Chelsea by Estêvão and Jorrel Hato, Bournemouth by Rayan and Junior Kroupi, Brighton by Luka Vušković and Charalampos Kostoulas, and Borussia Dortmund by Konstantinos Karetsas and Joane Gadou.

That means 18 different clubs are represented among the 25 finalists.

Spain Have the Most Candidates

Looking instead at the players' nationalities, Spain top the list with four finalists: Pau Cubarsí, Jon Martín, Marc Bernal and Xavi Espart.

Germany, Brazil and France follow with three players each. Greece and Argentina have two, while another eight nations are represented by one player each.

There are 14 different nationalities represented on the finalist list:

The fact that Spain top the nationality list and La Liga rank second among the leagues also shows how strong the Spanish representation is, even though several of the candidates from other countries play outside their home nations.

Wingers Are the Most Common Position Among the Finalists

The Golden Boy list includes players from almost every area of the pitch, but attacking positions are the most common, which is perhaps not particularly surprising given that attacking players tend to receive the most attention.

Seven finalists primarily play as wingers: Yan Diomande, Rayan, Estêvão, Gianluca Prestianni, Saïd El Mala, Kerim Alajbegović and Franco Mastantuono. That makes winger the most common individual position on the list.

Five are primarily centre-backs: Pau Cubarsí, Luka Vušković, Jon Martín, Finn Jeltsch and Joane Gadou.

There are also three out-and-out centre-forwards and several different types of central midfielders. Myles Lewis-Skelly is the clearest borderline case, as he can be used both at left-back and in central midfield.

One position is completely absent, however: there are no goalkeepers among the 25 finalists.

Two Almost Identical Age Groups

The age distribution is unusually even. Twelve of the finalists were born in 2006 and another twelve were born in 2007.

The only player who breaks that pattern is Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl, born on 22 February 2008, making him the youngest of all 25 finalists.

As of 7 October 2026, when this article is being written, eleven finalists are 20 years old, twelve are 19 and two are 18. The average age is approximately 19.4 years.

Finalists Valued at More Than €1.3 Billion

Another figure that shows the level these players have already reached is their combined market value.

According to figures presented in connection with the Golden Boy event, the 25 finalists are valued at a combined €1.303 billion. In January, the corresponding figure was €832.3 million.

That represents an increase of 56.65 percent in less than a year and an average market value of just over €52 million per finalist.

That does not, of course, tell us who will win the Golden Boy award, but it illustrates how quickly Europe's biggest young talents can develop both on the pitch and financially.

Cubarsí Leads Ahead of the Decisive Vote

Pau Cubarsí enters the final stage at the top of the October edition of the Golden Boy index. The Barcelona centre-back sits ahead of Ayyoub Bouaddi, Warren Zaïre-Emery and Yan Diomande among the players who are actually eligible. Lamine Yamal is technically second in the index, but as mentioned earlier, he is not part of the finalist field because a player can only win the Golden Boy award once.

Among the players who have climbed sharply are Luka Vušković, who has moved from 12th to sixth place, and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has risen from 16th to eighth. Gianluca Prestianni has also made one of the biggest jumps, climbing twelve places to 15th.

The index positions no longer have any direct bearing on the final result, however. It is the votes of the 50 journalists that will determine who succeeds Désiré Doué as the Golden Boy winner.

All 25 Finalists for the 2026 Golden Boy Award

Player Club Nationality Position Age (date of birth)
Pau Cubarsí Barcelona Spain Centre-back 19 (22 January 2007)
Ayyoub Bouaddi Manchester City Morocco Central midfielder 19 (2 October 2007)
Warren Zaïre-Emery Paris Saint-Germain France Central midfielder 20 (8 March 2006)
Yan Diomande Real Madrid Ivory Coast Left winger 19 (14 November 2006)
Luka Vušković Brighton Croatia Centre-back 19 (24 February 2007)
Victor Froholdt Porto Denmark Central midfielder 20 (25 February 2006)
Myles Lewis-Skelly Arsenal England Left-back/midfielder 20 (26 September 2006)
Rayan Bournemouth Brazil Right winger 20 (3 August 2006)
Jorrel Hato Chelsea Netherlands Left-back 20 (7 March 2006)
Lennart Karl Bayern Munich Germany Attacking midfielder 18 (22 February 2008)
Estêvão Chelsea Brazil Right winger 19 (24 April 2007)
Endrick Real Madrid Brazil Forward 20 (21 July 2006)
Eli Junior Kroupi Bournemouth France Forward 20 (23 June 2006)
Gianluca Prestianni Benfica Argentina Right winger 20 (31 January 2006)
Konstantinos Karetsas Borussia Dortmund Greece Attacking midfielder 18 (19 November 2007)
Saïd El Mala 1. FC Köln Germany Left winger 20 (26 August 2006)
Jon Martín Real Sociedad Spain Centre-back 20 (23 April 2006)
Marc Bernal Barcelona Spain Defensive midfielder 19 (26 May 2007)
Kerim Alajbegović Juventus Bosnia and Herzegovina Left winger 19 (21 September 2007)
Finn Jeltsch Stuttgart Germany Centre-back 20 (17 July 2006)
Charalampos Kostoulas Brighton Greece Forward 19 (30 May 2007)
Joane Gadou Borussia Dortmund France Centre-back 19 (17 January 2007)
Franco Mastantuono Fiorentina Argentina Right winger 19 (14 August 2007)
Rodrigo Mora Roma Portugal Attacking midfielder 19 (5 May 2007)
Xavi Espart Barcelona Spain Right-back 19 (21 May 2007)
7 Oct 2026