Italian newspaper Tuttosport has announced the final 25-player shortlist for the 2026 Golden Boy award, with Barcelona and Spain defender Pau Cubarsí emerging as the frontrunner for the prize.
The award is presented annually to the best under-21 player operating in a European top flight. The first 20 candidates were selected based on the performance index compiled by Transfermarkt, before Tuttosport added five wildcard entries. The awards ceremony will take place in Turin this December.
The primary 20-man shortlist includes: Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona), Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City), Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain), Yann Diomandé (Real Madrid), Luka Vušković (Brighton), Victor Froholdt (Porto), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Rayan (Bournemouth), Jorrel Hato (Chelsea), and Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich).
Also featured on the list are: Estêvão (Chelsea), Endrick (Real Madrid), Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth), Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica), Konstantinos Karetsas (Borussia Dortmund), Saïd El Malla (Köln), Jon Martín (Real Sociedad), Marc Bernal (Barcelona), Kerim Alajbegović (Juventus), and Finn Jeltsch (Stuttgart).
Meanwhile, the five wildcard invitations were awarded to Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton), Joane Gadou (Borussia Dortmund), Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina), Rodrigo Mora (Roma), and Xavi Espart (Barcelona).
Barcelona leads the nominations with three representatives (Cubarsí, Bernal, and Espart), while Real Madrid features Endrick and Yann Diomandé, alongside Franco Mastantuono, who is currently spending the season on loan at Fiorentina.
Although Lamine Yamal remains age-eligible and maintains a top ranking among Europe’s brightest talents, he is absent due to a rule prohibiting any player from winning the Golden Boy award more than once in their career.
Yamal won the award in 2024 and is therefore no longer eligible for the shortlist, an exclusion unrelated to his form or age. Consequently, Cubarsí appears poised to succeed Désiré Doué following his 2026 World Cup triumph, where he was named the tournament’s Best Young Player.
