Every Golden Boy winner in history: Where are they now?

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 23 Oct 2025 16:31 BST
• 24 min read

Analysis

The Golden Boy is the most prestigious award for young footballers and it has been won by some of the greatest players on the planet since its inception in 2003.

The award was founded by Italian newspaper Tuttosport and it is handed out to the best U21 player in world football based on performances over a 12-month period, rather than one regular football season.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the 22 winners of the Golden Boy and where they are now.

2003: Rafael van der Vaart (Ajax)

Current Club: Retired

Rafael van der Vaart won the inaugural Golden Boy award back in 2003 after bursting onto the scene with Ajax. The Dutchman scored 22 goals in 30 games across all competitions during the 2002-03 season and he fought off significant competition to claim the first ever prize.

Van der Vaart subsequently joined Hamburg in 2005 and he then completed a major transfer to La Liga giants Real Madrid three years later.

After a stint at Tottenham Hotspur, a second spell at Hamburg and one year at Real Betis, Van der Vaart moved to Denmark in 2016. He featured for both Midtjylland and Esbjerg, before retiring in November 2018 with over 500 club appearances to his name.

2004: Wayne Rooney (Everton/Man Utd)

Current Club: Retired

After missing out on the 2003 award, Wayne Rooney was victorious the following year after earning himself a lucrative move to Manchester United. He notched nine Premier League goals during his final campaign at Everton, before netting 17 goals across his first season at Old Trafford, including a hat-trick on his debut for the club.

Rooney soon established himself as a legend at Man Utd and he racked up 559 appearances, 253 goals and 17 trophies for the Red Devils. He also scored 53 goals in 120 caps for England.

The Englishman rejoined Everton in 2017, before enjoying spells at DC United and Derby County. He retired from playing in January 2021 and subsequently spent time as a manager at Derby, DC United, Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle. Rooney is now a pundit.

2005: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Current Club: Inter Miami

Lionel Messi shone at the U20 World Cup in 2005, winning the Player of the Tournament and Golden Boot awards, and his performances for Argentina at the tournament were a major contributing factor to his Golden Boy victory as he wasn’t yet a first-team regular at Barcelona.

However, he soon established himself as the best footballer in the world, winning the first of his eight Ballon d’Or trophies in 2009. He ended his Barcelona career with 672 goals and 35 trophies for the club, while he guided Argentina to a famous World Cup triumph in 2022.

After leaving Barcelona amid the club’s financial woes, Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, before moving to Inter Miami two years later. He helped the MLS club win their first ever major trophy just weeks after arriving, in the form of the 2023 Leagues Cup, and he won the MLS Golden Boot in 2025.

2006: Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

Current Club: Retired

Cesc Fabregas opted to leave Barcelona to join Arsenal in 2003 and he soon established himself as a first-team regular under the management of Arsene Wenger in north London, despite his young age.

The Spaniard stepped up as Patrick Vieira’s replacement for the Gunners and he won the 2006 Golden Boy award after playing a pivotal role as Arsenal reached the Champions League final that year.

Fabregas’ stock continued to rise at Arsenal and he returned to Barcelona in 2011. He spent three years at Camp Nou before angering Gunners fans by joining Chelsea and helping them lift the Premier League title on two occasions.

After spells at AS Monaco and Como, Fabregas retired in 2023 and he is now the manager of the latter in Serie A.

2007: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)

Current Club: Retired

Like his compatriot Messi, Sergio Aguero won the Golden Boy award following a stunning U20 World Cup tournament. He won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot prizes for Argentina, en route to winning the trophy, while he scored six La Liga goals in his debut season for Atletico Madrid.

After establishing himself as one of the world’s most promising strikers in Spain, Aguero joined Manchester City in 2011, amid interest from Chelsea, and he soon cemented himself as a club legend at the Etihad Stadium.

Aguero scored 260 goals in 390 games for the club, winning 15 trophies along the way, and he played an indispensable role in Man City’s Premier League dominance in the late 2010s and early 2020s. He also scored the most famous goal in Premier League history.

However, he was forced to retire in 2021 after suffering heart problems following a move to Barcelona.

2008: Anderson (Man Utd)

Current Club: Retired

After unearthing the gem that was Cristiano Ronaldo, Man Utd thereafter kept a keen scouting eye on Portugal to see if they could find similar wonderkids, and in the summer of 2007, they signed Anderson from Porto and Nani from Sporting CP for a combined €55m.

In terms of honours, Anderson's career at Man Utd was a success as he won four Premier League titles as well as the Champions League in 2008. But, he was never really considered a key player at Old Trafford and his time at the club was marred by constant accusations of a lack of fitness.

During his stint in Manchester, he injured his ACL and was also fined by Sir Alex Ferguson for returning to Brazil without permission, so his tenure was tumultuous to say the least. After leaving United under David Moyes, he played for Fiorentina on loan, Internacional, Coritiba and then eventually Adana Demirspor where he would retire. He is currently an assistant at the Turkish side.

2009: Alexandre Pato (AC Milan)

Current Club: Retired

Alexandre Pato fits the bill of a wasted talent down to a tee, once dubbed a wonderkid before the trajectory of his promising career fell off completely. At the age of 21, Pato had already succeeded at boyhood club Internacional and gone on to AC Milan, where he led the Rossoneri to a first league title in seven years.

During that time, he won the Golden Boy award in 2009 following what would be the best season of his career - 18 goals in all competitions.

Blessed with blistering pace and explosive movements, Pato was electrifying in full flow. However, a number of injury difficulties plagued the forward’s career, causing him to return to Brazil, with Sao Paulo, where he did actually rediscover some form.

Yet, his return to Europe came with Chelsea, and then Villareal, where he struggled, before effectively writing off his career with a move to China and the United States of America. He retired in January 2025 at the age of 35 having never fulfilled his career.

2010: Mario Balotelli (Inter Milan/Man City)

Current Club: Free Agent

When Mario Balotelli burst onto the scene as a teenager, he became Italy’s first superstar with African heritage, both his blood parents being Ghanaian. Breaking down racial barriers in Italy was never easy for Balotelli but he emerged as an iconic wonderkid at Inter.

He claimed the Golden Boy in 2010 after a memorable year where he helped Inter win a historic treble. He followed his mentor Roberto Mancini to Man City and he played a key role in their memorable first Premier League triumph in 2012.

That was a golden year for Super Mario as he lit up Euro 2012 with a sensational double in the semi-finals against Germany. However, his lack of passion for the game started to become a problem when his unprofessional manner off the pitch overshadowed his work on it.

By the time he left City at the age of 22, he had already peaked. Stints at the likes of Liverpool, AC Milan, Nice and Marseille followed, before a spell in Turkey. Balotelli had his contract terminated at FC Sion in 2023 and appeared for lowly Monza and Serie B side Brescia.

He is still active at 35 and is currently a free agent after a forgettable spell at Genoa.

Balotelli will go down as one the most wasted talents in football history, given he was just a fair amount of application away from enjoying a stellar career.

2011: Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund)

Current Club: Eintracht Frankfurt

A Borussia Dortmund academy product, Jurgen Klopp gave Mario Gotze a debut with the senior team in 2009-10, using him sparingly at first but then fully relying on the talented attacking midfielder at the Westfalenstadion.

The teenager had been earmarked as one of Germany's best young players, guiding their Under-17 squad to the 2009 UEFA European U17 Championship in 2009, winning the tournament's Golden Player award. He followed that with the Fritz Walter Gold Medal for U17 and U18 age groups in back-to-back years, but those were just trophies and prizes for junior football.

Senior football is often a bigger challenge for young starlets, but not for Götze, whose incredible technical ability was a key reason Klopp's Dortmund won the Bundesliga in 2010-11 as he scored six times and provided 15 assists from left wing, right wing and attacking midfield.

He went on to controversially join Bayern Munich, but struggled at times for the Bavarians despite helping Germany win the World Cup before returning to Borussia Dortmund in 2016. A stint at PSV followed and now he is back in the Bundesliga where he is a veteran presence in the Eintracht Frankfurt dressing room.

2012: Isco (Malaga)

Current Club: Real Betis

A €6m signing for Malaga from Valencia, Isco proved to be a bargain for the side from the Costa del Sol as his performances lit up the coastal club in his debut season. The attacking midfielder had never scored a goal in La Liga before joining Malaga, but netted five times in his first year at the club to help them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history.

That earned him a spot on Spain's Olympic squad as well as their Under-21 team who went on to win the UEFA European U21 Championship the following year. A player as good as Isco was never going to stay at Malaga for too long, with Real Madrid coming in 2013 to pay them €30m for his services.

He won 18 major trophies including three La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues at Madrid before joining Sevilla and now lines out for Betis, having played all his senior career in Spain's top flight.

Current ETV

Isco  

M, AM (C)

Real Betis

Isco  

M, AM (C)

Real Betis

€4.5M

ETV Range

€3.6M - €5.4M

View full profile

2013: Paul Pogba (Juventus)

Current Club: Monaco

When Paul Pogba departed Manchester United for Juventus as a youth player, it came as a major blow to the Red Devils as the Frenchman had already been earmarked for superstardom. His career has since been a rollercoaster, with Pogba reaching the pinnacle of the game by winning the 2018 World Cup with France but also leaving a sense that he could have achieved so much more.

After shining with Juventus, he became Man Utd’s first €100 million signing at the time when he returned to Old Trafford, but his languid style failed to win over fans or pundits in the Premier League, despite obvious displays of brilliance.

His ping-pong career saw him bounce back to Turin in 2022 on a free transfer, but his second spell in Serie A proved similarly frustrating. A ban for taking a performance-enhancing substance cut short that period of his career and cast him into exile for 18 months.

Pogba now finds himself at Monaco, where he has been battling injury issues and, at the time of writing, has yet to make his debut for the Ligue 1 club. It’s likely to be a last hurrah in a career that never quite reached the heights it might have.

2014: Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

Current Club: Chelsea

Raheem Sterling was handed a prominent first-team role by Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers ahead of the 2013-14 season and he won the Golden Boy prize after forming a formidable attacking unit alongside Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.

His talent reached new heights following a move to Man City in 2015 and Sterling became one of the best wingers in world football under the guidance of Pep Guardiola. He scored 131 goals in 339 games for City before opting to leave the club to join Chelsea after an ownership change in west London.

However, after being cast aside by Enzo Maresca following the Italian’s arrival at Chelsea, Sterling endured a tough loan spell at Arsenal in 2024-25 and he is now in the ‘Bomb Squad’ at Stamford Bridge after failing to earn a transfer away during the summer window.

2015: Anthony Martial (Monaco, Man Utd)

Current Club: Monterrey

Although winning the Golden Boy award has never been a guarantee of a strong career, few players have seen the remarkable drop off that Anthony Martial has suffered since he made a €60 million move to Manchester United.

His early period at United was simply electric. When he scored a brilliant solo goal against Liverpool, it seemed that a new star had announced himself. Instead, Martial suffered from repeated injury problems as well as a loss of confidence and rarely showed his best level. There was a brief renaissance in 2019/20, when he scored 17 Premier League goals, yet in the following five campaigns, he totalled just 18 league strikes. Seven of these came with AEK Athens, where he made an unlikely move after leaving United as a free agent.

Martial’s time in Greece was ultimately written off as an expensive disappointment, despite a commendable strike rate, and he now finds himself in Liga MX with Monterrey as he seeks to rekindle his career across the Atlantic as a 29-year-old. His fall is outlined by the fact that his move to Mexico cost just €1m - a far cry from the bright young starlet Man Utd signed for €60m from Monaco.

2016: Renato Sanches (Benfica/Bayern Munich)

Current Club: Panathinaikos

Renato Sanches became the first Portuguese recipient of the Golden Boy award in 2016 after playing a key role in his country’s triumph at the European Championship.

A product of the Benfica youth academy, he actually only played with the senior team for one season, helping them to a Primeira Liga and Taca da Liga double before being sold to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2016 for an initial €35m which was, at the time, a record sale for a club in Portugal.

Sanches' performances didn't meet the standard at Bayern and he's had somewhat of a nomadic career since. He is only 28 but has had eight different stints at clubs in his career - Benfica, Bayern, Swansea (loan), Lille, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica (loan) and Panathinaikos (loan). Sanches is still PSG's player but it's highly unlikely he has a future at the club.

2017: Kylian Mbappe (Monaco/PSG)

Current Club: Real Madrid

Back in 2017, Kylian Mbappe became perhaps the most obvious Golden Boy winner in history, having completed a loan move to PSG that was tantamount to a €180m transfer.

The young Frenchman was coming off a breakthrough campaign in which he shattered numerous records with a thrilling Monaco side that beat his future employers to the Ligue 1 title. He scored 15 Ligue 1 goals in 17 starts plus 12 substitute appearances, while it was his displays in the Champions League that marked him as a class above, memorably dismantling hot favourites Manchester City before Les Monegasques’ run was ended by Real Madrid in the semis.

He has moved from strength to strength since. In 2018, he was a vital member of the France squad that won the World Cup. Four years later, he became just the second player ever to net a hat-trick in the World Cup final in Les Bleus’ penalty defeat to Argentina.

At club level, he became PSG’s all-time leading scorer before controversially leaving on a free transfer to Real Madrid in the summer of 2024. He is now the face of Los Blancos, following in the footsteps of his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.

2018: Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax)

Current Club: Man Utd

Matthijs de Ligt was an Ajax and Netherlands regular in 2018 and he won the Golden Boy prize ahead of Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Dutchman was part of Erik ten Hag's exciting Ajax side that reached the semi-final of the Champions League in the 2018/19 campaign and he left the club that summer.

Juventus won the race for his signature for €75m but he didn't make much of an impact in Turin and was unpopular with the club's fans. Three years later, in 2022, he signed for Bayern Munich for €67m.

The Dutchman did win the Bundesliga with Bayern but in his second season he suffered a recurring knee injury that saw him lose his place in the starting XI to Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae.

Bayern subsequently decided to cash-in on interest from Man Utd, who signed him for €50m in 2023, and although De Ligt has been a solid enough performer for the Red Devils, he has been part of the squad during the tumultuous tenures of Ten Hag and Ruben Amorim.

2019: Joao Felix (Benfica/Atletico Madrid)

Current Club: Al-Nassr

Like his fellow Portuguese winner Sanches, Joao Felix only spent one season in the Benfica senior side before leaving the club - earning the Golden Boy prize after notching 31 goal contributions in 43 games - and what an outrageous transfer it was.

The deal from PSG to sign Neymar from Barcelona for €222 million sent shockwaves through world football and also inflated the transfer market to an obscene level. Barca subsequently replaced Neymar with Antoine Griezmann for €120m and that led to Atletico replacing the Frenchman with Felix for a remarkable €126m. It is the second-highest fee ever paid for a teenager.

Predictably, Felix's maverick style didn't fit Diego Simeone's robust, pressing system and he subsequently spent time on loan at Chelsea and then Barcelona.

A permanent transfer to Chelsea raised eyebrows, while a loan to Milan thereafter proved a complete disaster. In the summer of 2025, he moved to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr to play alongside compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.

2020: Erling Haaland (RB Salzburg/Borussia Dortmund)

Current Club: Man City

After scoring 29 goals in 27 games for RB Salzburg during the first-half of the 2019-20 campaign, Erling Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund in January and he netted 27 times in just 29 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit before winning the Golden Boy award.

The Norway superstar subsequently completed a move to Manchester City and he helped Pep Guardiola’s side win the treble during his first season, scoring a whopping 52 goals in all competitions.

Haaland remains an integral member of Man City’s first-team squad and his current deal at the Etihad Stadium isn’t due to expire until 2034 after he signed a lucrative contract extension in January amid interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid.

2021: Pedri (Barcelona)

Current Club: Barcelona

Barcelona spent €23m to sign Pedri in 2019 and after a loan spell back at Las Palmas, the midfielder claimed the Golden Boy award in 2021 following a stunning debut year at Camp Nou.

However, his efforts in 2020-21 saw him rack up an insane total of 73 appearances for club and country, and Pedri was soon plagued by a number of injury issues.

But, he is now back to full fitness and he is widely considered to be one of the best players in the world.

Current ETV

Pedri

M, DM, AM (C)

Barcelona

Pedri

M, DM, AM (C)

Barcelona

€101.9M

ETV Range

€91.7M - €112.1M

View full profile

2022: Gavi (Barcelona)

Current Club: Barcelona

Gavi has followed in a similar vein to his compatriot and Barcelona team-mate Pedri. He won the Golden Boy award in 2022 after an excellent breakthrough season at Camp Nou, in which he scored two goals and provided six assists in La Liga.

The Spaniard continued that form in the 2022-23 campaign, but he suffered an ACL injury in November 2023 and he has now undergone further knee surgery after injuring his right knee in training in August.

Gavi remains an extremely talented player, however he risks becoming the latest Golden Boy to fail to live up to their potential if injuries persist.

2023: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid)

Current Club: Real Madrid

Jude Bellingham scooped the 2023 Golden Boy prize thanks to an eye-catching end to his Borussia Dortmund career and a sublime start to life at Real Madrid.

The England superstar scored 13 goals in his first 14 appearances for Los Blancos and he beat close friend Jamal Musiala to the award after winning the Kopa Trophy at the Ballon d’Or ceremony just one month earlier.

Bellingham remains a key player for Real Madrid and he has cemented himself as one of the world’s biggest superstars at the Santiago Bernabeu.

2024: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

Current Club: Barcelona

Lamine Yamal became the youngest ever winner of the Golden Boy award in 2024 after a simply sensational breakout season for Barcelona and Spain.

He notched seven goals and nine assists for Barcelona during his first campaign in senior football, while he also helped Spain win the European Championship in the summer - registering five goal contributions in seven games.

In 2024-25, Yamal followed that up with an even more impressive second season at first-team level and the Spain superstar came second in the Ballon d’Or rankings, behind only Ousmane Dembele. He is widely considered to be the best player in world football.

Current ETV

Lamine Yamal

F, M (R)

Barcelona

Lamine Yamal

F, M (R)

Barcelona

€182.7M

ETV Range

€164.5M - €201M

View full profile

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