The Golden Boy Award holds a special place in the hearts of FC Barcelona fans. Many special players have won the award over the years, and several of them have been players of the Catalan giants. These winners have not just come in previous eras, but also in the current one.
For FC Barcelona, their first-ever recipient of the award was Lionel Messi in 2005. The Barcelona legend was among the very first to ever get their hands on the award itself. Following Messi’s victory, Barcelona had to wait until 2021 to see Pedri end up as the winner of the prestigious youth award.
Barcelona Heritage
Described as being the award given to the best youngster in any particular year, it holds a special value to the upcoming stars. Following Pedri, Barcelona managed to record another triumph in 2022 with Pablo Gavi, who remains the current holder.
In the latest update provided by Tuttosport, the 20 finalists for the award this year have been revealed. Interestingly, Barcelona star Gavi is ineligible to be included as he has already previously won the award, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Balde’s Chance
However, 19-year-old Barcelona fullback Alejandro Balde makes the list of the top 20 candidates to win the award. He is expected to face stiff competition from the likes of Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala.
Wild Card entry for Barcelona
Moreover, this year’s iteration of the award sees five Wild Card entries. Two of the most prominent names here are Real Madrid’s Arda Guler and 16-year-old Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal.
Wild Cards are essentially introductions into the final challenge for the award. These particular players do not go through the initial voting phases and other formulas that the rest of the chosen players go through.
Lamine Yamal ends up being one of the talented and fortunate few who are seen as competent enough to challenge for this accolade.
The young teenage sensation has lit up the European stage following his development in La Masia. Now a proper nominee for the Golden Boy award as a wild card, it will be extremely interesting to see how the young gem fares in terms of the final rankings for this prestigious youth award.
