The Golden Boy award is given each year to the best player in Europe under 21 years old.
Since it was first awarded in 2003, some of the recipients have gone on to lift the World Cup — Cesc Fabregas, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe and Mario Gotze — and become superstars.
Others have fared less well, struggling to live up to the hype or even struggling to get a game.
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Take Isco. He was at Malaga when he won the award in 2012 (pictured above) but after moving to Real Madrid, he dropped out of the side. He won La Liga and Champions League medals and played for Spain in the 2018 World Cup but the 30-year-old, now at Sevilla, was not even called up for Qatar.
But how did more recent winners, from the last 10 years, do at this year’s World Cup?
Paul Pogba, 2013
Now aged: 29
Current team: Juventus
National team: France
After leaving Manchester United as a free agent in 2012, Pogba impressed at Juventus in Serie A, winning the Golden Boy award the following year.
In that same year, Juventus manager Antonio Conte said Pogba “had the potential to reach the very top, in the space of a year and a half he has developed in an exceptional way”.
He won Serie A multiple times, and the World Cup in 2018 during a second spell at Manchester United, before returning to Juventus this summer, but injury kept him out of this World Cup.
Raheem Sterling, 2014
Now aged: 28
Current team: Chelsea
National team: England
One of two Englishmen to win the award (the other was Wayne Rooney in 2004), Sterling was given the Golden Boy after an impressive time at Liverpool.
A year later he joined Manchester City, which was labelled a controversial move at the time, and went on to win four league titles before moving to Chelsea in August.
Qatar was Sterling’s third World Cup. He scored in England’s 6-2 win against Iran in the group stages and came on in the defeat to France, and was the most capped player in the squad (82 appearances).
Anthony Martial, 2015
Now aged: 27
Current team: Manchester United
National team: France
Martial won the Golden Boy award after shining for Monaco, but was signed by Manchester United for a record fee (£36million, $44.3m) for a teenager in 2015.
He is one of three players to have won a Golden Boy award at Manchester United but is also one of two former Manchester United players to have won the Golden Boy and never played at the World Cup — the other being Anderson, who won the award in 2008.
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This season, he has struggled with injuries and is yet to play a full 90 minutes. Despite injuries to Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku, France manager Didier Deschamps did not call him up.
Renato Sanches, 2016
Now aged: 25
Current team: Paris Saint-Germain
National team: Portugal
In 2016, Renato Sanches earned a Golden Boy award to go alongside his European Championship winner’s medal. However, his progress stagnated after moving from Benfica to Bayern Munich, and he ended up on loan at Swansea City.
As a result, he wasn’t called up for the 2018 World Cup and left Bayern for Lille. This summer, he moved to PSG but is yet to play a full 90 minutes, instead becoming a rotational squad player for the Ligue 1 champions.
Like Anderson and Martial, Sanches is another former Golden Boy winner who is yet to play at a World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe, 2017
Now aged: 23
Current team: PSG
National team: France
Mbappe made his presence known in 2017, helping Monaco win the Ligue 1 title and scooping the Golden Boy trophy.
The following year, he was a key part of France’s 2018 World Cup triumph, and he has been a key part of their campaign this year too. He has already reached double figures for World Cup appearances.
Along with fellow Frenchman Pogba, Mbappe is one of two players who have won a Golden Boy and a World Cup as well as moving for a fee of more than £80million. Not bad for a 23-year-old.
Matthijs de Ligt, 2018
Now aged: 23
Current team: Bayern Munich
National team: Netherlands
One of two Ajax alumni to have won the award (Rafael van der Vaart won the inaugural prize in 2003), De Ligt was given it before becoming an important part of Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018-19.
The only defender to win the award, he moved to Juventus in 2019, but over the summer, he left Turin for a new challenge with Bayern Munich.
He was part of Louis van Gaal’s 26-man squad at this year’s World Cup but only started against Senegal, with Van Gaal preferring a back three of Nathan Ake, Virgil van Dijk and Jurrien Timber.
Joao Felix, 2019
Now aged: 23
Current team: Atletico Madrid
National team: Portugal
Felix picked up the award a few days after his 20th birthday after an impressive year at Benfica, helping them win the 2018-19 league title. He had moved to Atletico Madrid for £113million over the summer.
In 2020, during an interview between Felix and Kaka, the Brazilian said he believed the Portuguese youngster had a better technical ability than his own.
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Felix was part of Portugal’s 26-man squad in Qatar and scored his first World Cup goal in the 3-2 group-stage win over Ghana. However, that was as good as it got for Felix and Portugal, and they were knocked out by Morocco.
Erling Haaland, 2020
Now aged: 22
Current team: Manchester City
National team: Norway
Forty-one goals across the 2020-21 season, including six in four Champions League group games, helped earn Haaland the Golden Boy award at Borussia Dortmund.
Two years after winning it, Haaland became one of the most coveted players in history. Eventually, he was recruited by Manchester City and is on 18 goals in 13 league games this season.
Hailed as “the best striker in the world” by Jurgen Klopp, Haaland has continued his Golden Boy form, but like Anderson, Martial and Sanches, he is yet to appear at the World Cup.
Pedri, 2021
Now aged: 20
Current team: Barcelona
National team: Spain
One of four Spaniards — and four La Masia products (if we include Cesc Fabregas) — to win a Golden Boy.
After his exquisite performance at the Euro 2020 for Spain, Luis Enrique told Marca: “What Pedri has done in these Euros, I have never seen with an 18-year-old, not from anyone in the Euros.”
Pedri was part of Spain’s 26-man squad at this year’s World Cup, starting every game before they were knocked out by Morocco in the round of 16.
Gavi, 2022
Now aged: 18
Current team: Barcelona
National team: Spain
This year’s winner beat Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga and Jamal Musiala to the prize.
Despite only making his first-team debut for Barcelona in August 2021, Gavi was part of the 26-man squad at the 2022 World Cup for Spain, partnering his Barcelona team-mate Pedri in midfield.
Aged just 18, he scored against Costa Rica and started all of Spain’s matches, with Enrique saying Gavi will go on to “define an era”.
(Top photo: David Ramos via Getty Images)