2011 – Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund)
Mario Gotze, who was dubbed the ‘German Messi’ during his initial spell at Westfalenstadion, was yet another precocious talent to be recognised as a Golden Boy. After seemingly set to conquer the world with Dortmund, Gotze made a controversial switch to arch-rivals Bayern Munich in 2013 which turned out to be a bad move in hindsight. Gotze struggled to nail down a starting spot under Pep Guardiola and was reduced to substitute appearances.
Though he scored the winner in the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina, his fortunes did not improve in Munich. Ultimately, the German moved back to Borussia Dortmund this summer. Heis still only 24 years old and has plenty of time to fulfill his potential in familiar surroundings.
2012 – Isco (Malaga FC)
Isco started his career at Valencia before moving to Malaga in 2011. The Spanish midfielder's performances for the club earned him the Golden Boy award. Isco started to attract the attention from big European clubs and soon Real Madrid and Manchester City came calling. He chose to move to Real in 2013 but again found his playing time limited by the presence of seasoned internationals that Real Madrid inadvertently possesses.
Though not a guaranteed starter for Real, isco is still very much in the plans of Zinedine Zidane and at 24 years of age has time on his side.
