The Golden Boy award is a prestigious award given by sports journalists to a young player playing in any of Europe’s top tier leagues and aged 21 or below, in recognition of the player’s performance over the course of a season. The award was established by Italian newspaper Tuttosport in 2003.
Since its induction, the award has gone to players like Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero – players who tasted phenomenal success after receiving the honour. But that hasn’t been the case with many other players who received the award. Some of them have faded away after making a big money switch or due to other reasons.
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The Golden Boy award is often much awaited as it points out to the most exciting young footballer playing in Europe. The award is given based on the performances in the calendar year and not one season. Here is the complete list of all Golden Boy award winners from 2003-2015.
| Year | Player | Country | Club |
| 2003 | Rafael van der Vaart | Netherlands | Ajax |
| 2004 | Wayne Rooney | England | Manchester United |
| 2005 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2006 | Cesc Fabregas | Spain | Arsenal |
| 2007 | Sergio Aguero | Argentina | Atletico Madrid |
| 2008 | Anderson | Brazil | Manchester United |
| 2009 | Alexandre Pato | Brazil | A.C. Milan |
| 2010 | Mario Balotelli | Italy | Manchester City |
| 2011 | Mario Gotze | Germany | Borussia Dortmund |
| 2012 | Isco | Spain | Malaga |
| 2013 | Paul Pogba | France | Juventus |
| 2014 | Raheem Sterling | England | Liverpool |
| 2015 | Anthony Martial | France | Manchester United |
One surprising name missing from the list is Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was U-21 in 2004 and 2005, but his Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney and long time rival Lionel Messi were chosen ahead of him in 2004 and 2005.
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Some surprising names on the list include the Brazilian duo of Alexandre Pato and Anderson and Italian maverick Mario Balotelli. Anderson currently plays for Internacional while his countryman Pato plays for La Liga side Villareal C.F.
Only one of these players has gone on to win the Ballon d’Or award and that player is none other than Argentina and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
Manchester United have had the most number of Golden Boy winners with 3 of them making this list. The 2004 winner, Wayne Rooney and the 2015 winner, Anthony Martial also have 2013 Golden Boy winner Paul Pogba as their team-mate.
While the list undoubtedly has some great names, it also has some names which remind us of how talent should always go hand in hand with hard work.
