You may have thought that award season drew to a close at the start of the autumn with France Football’s 69th Ballon d’Or ceremony, but governing bodies and media publications aren’t yet done with dishing out brass to some of the sport’s shining lights.
Since 2003, Turin-based newspaperTuttosport has been crowning its ’Golden Boy’ every year. The award set out to honor the game’s brightest young talents, with only those who are under 21 and competing in Europe eligible for the award.
With a new victor guaranteed each year, the 2025 winner will be part of an alumni that includes Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Lamine Yamal. Some of the all-time greats have been recognised with the award, and the latest group of nominees certainly isn’t shy of potential superstars.
Here’s how Sports Illustrated ranks the 10 most likely winners of the 2025 Golden Boy award from the 25 nominated.
10. Warren Zaïre-Emery
Warren Zaïre-Emery was one of the breakout stars of 2023–24, and the French midfielder was a part of a Paris Saint-Germain side that finished last season with four major pieces of silverware in their pockets.
And while the box-to-box dynamo made 32 starts for Luis Enrique’s side amid their dominance, we didn’t get to see too much of Zaïre-Emery during their run to Champions League glory. Enrique’s preferred midfield trio of Vitinha, João Neves and Fabián Ruíz were so instrumental to their success that the young French international seldom got the chance to impress on the big stage.
He ended 2024–25 with just five goal contributions, and some may have expected him to have made a bigger Golden Boy push this calendar year.
9. Franco Mastantuono
The young Argentine’s summer move to Real Madrid means he’s Golden Boy eligible, having garnered a lofty reputation back in his homeland with River Plate.
A wider audience became accustomed to Franco Mastantuono and his silky left foot at the Club World Cup, and it won’t be long until he blossoms into a household name in the Spanish capital.
There’s been little time for acclimatisation in Madrid, with Xabi Alonso thrusting plenty of responsibility upon the creative teenager right away. Mastantuono’s bright start to life in La Liga means he makes our top 10.
8. Ethan Nwaneri
While chances have been limited for the English starlet at the start of 2025–26, Ethan Nwaneri filled in ably when called upon at the turn of the new year.
Arsenal’s injury woes forced Mikel Arteta to turn to the Premier League record-breaker, who became the competition’s youngest-ever player back in 2022.
Nwaneri injected life into a monotonous Gunners outfit that were fading at the top of the table, with the teenager producing standout performances and moments in victories over Leicester City, PSV Eindhoven and Manchester City.
Adept off the right flank but most dangerous when he’s operating infield, Nwaneri has the makings of an Arsenal superstar as they attempt to assert dominance over the Premier League.
7. Arda Güler
Carlo Ancelotti never quite trusted Real Madrid’s Turkish starlet, although Arda Güler was often productive when he was offered rare opportunities to prove he could cope at the highest level.
Güler wouldn’t have been in Golden Boy contention entering the summer, but Xabi Alonso quickly took to the 20-year-old, and he’s been a regular in the Madrid midfield this season after impressing at the Club World Cup.
Güler is a versatile playmaker who Alonso believes can supply Madrid’s engine room with the control it sorely needs following the retirement of Toni Kroos and departure of Luka Modrić in back-to-back summers.
6. Myles Lewis-Skelly
Nwaneri offered a much-needed spark for Arsenal at times last season, but Myles Lewis-Skelly was the breakout star of the Gunners’ campaign.
The Hale End graduate impressed towards the end of 2024 before emerging as a fully fledged starter in the new year, displacing Riccardo Calafiori.
Lewis-Skelly’s midfield history rendered him an excellent fit for the inverted role in Arteta’s framework, with his supreme upper-body strength allowing him to resist pressure and ride challenges like Mousa Dembélé could during his heyday.
His stellar breakthrough saw him earn his first England call-up in March, and he scored on his debut. While minutes have been harder to come by in 2025–26, Lewis-Skelly continues to prove why he’s so highly regarded.
5. Estêvão
Like Mastantuono, plenty had heard about and seen clips on social media of South American sensation Estêvão heading into the Club World Cup.
The Brazilian had agreed to join Chelsea after the tournament, and Blues supporters must’ve known they’d stumbled upon something quite special after watching him in the United States.
Estêvão’s exploits with Palmeiras saw him finish fourth in the 2025 Kopa Trophy, and he’ll likely earn a lofty ranking here as a result of the start he’s made in west London. The spritely winger has already evolved into a Stamford Bridge hero after he struck late to sink Premier League champions Liverpool before the October international break.
He’s an electrifying talent.
4. Dean Huijsen
Andre Agnelli’s idea of creating a ’NextGen’ team should’ve handed Juventus their stalwart center back for the next decade.
Instead, they accepted an offer from Bournemouth for his services and saw him blossom into an asset Real Madrid were willing to buy for £50 million ($66.5 million) a year later.
Dean Huijsen was one of the Premier League’s standout defenders last season, shining for a Cherries side that proved to be a nuisance for the league’s aristocracy under Andoni Iraola.
Excluding a pair of harsh red cards, Huijsen had settled in nicely in Madrid and could partner a similarly talented center half from the opposite side of the Clásico divide for the next however-many years at the heart of Spain’s defense.
3. Pau Cubarsí
Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsí was harshly ranked in the Kopa Trophy, finishing seventh—a spot behind Huijsen.
Only one defender, Matthijs de Ligt in 2019, has won this award and the alternative contenders means Huijsen and Cubarsí are unlikely to join the Dutchman, but they could come close.
It’s hard to split the two Spanish defenders, but we’ve ranked the Barça starlet ahead of Huijsen for his contributions in a team that won three pieces of silverware and came ever so close to reaching the Champions League final.
Cubarsí developed an excellent partnership with Iñigo Martínez in a demanding system.
2. Kenan Yıldız
Kenan Yıldız has home field advantage working for him here, although an array of publications contribute to the Golden Boy award, not just creators Tuttosport.
However, Juve’s next great hope is worthy of being considered strongly. After breaking out in 2023–24, Yıldız subsequently had the honor of donning the club’s fated No. 10 shirt bestowed upon him.
Thus, expectations were high entering 2024–25, but the relentless winger certainly didn’t disappoint. Some of his most notable contributions came in 2024, but his consistency down Juve’s left flank has seen him develop into an asset that most teams in Europe now wish to possess.
His knack for rising to the big occasion means stardom is inevitable.
1. Désiré Doué
Lamine Yamal’s ineligibility means there can only be one winner of the 2025 Golden Boy award.
Paris Saint-Germain flicked a switch in 2025, and there were many factors at play in their stunning evolution. Among those was the increased prominence of former Rennes starlet Désiré Doué, who became one of the leading figures of PSG’s Champions League success.
While Doué was in and out of the team throughout the knockout stages, he almost always had an impact. The majestic young winger is a sharpshooter from range, and his brace in the final saw him earn Player of the Match honrs on the grandest stage.
Doué was subsequently named the Young Player of the Tournament at the Club World Cup, and the teenager has since produced some magical moments at the start of 2025–26. After finishing 14th in Ballon d’Or voting and second in the Kopa Trophy, Doué is poised to be named as the latest Golden Boy victor.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Golden Boy 2025: The Favorites to Win—Ranked.