The shortlisted nominees for the 2022 Golden Boy have been revealed, ranging from Arsenal new boy Marquinhos, to established Bayern Munich superstar Jamal Musiala.
The Golden Boy is an annual award presented to the best player under the age of 21 in Europe, almost like a kid’s version of the Ballon d’Or. Past winners include Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, among many other elite names.
The current accolade-holder is Pedri, who has also been nominated for this year’s version, having won 2021’s edition. The precocious Barcelona midfielder became the first player born after 2000 to scoop the much-coveted award.
Voted for by established publications in major footballing nations, the award’s inception dates back to 2003 when the inaugural silverware was handed to a young Rafael van der Vaart who, at the time, was plying his trade for Ajax.
This year’s winner will become the 20th recipient of the award, following in the footsteps of some of the game’s most-cherished superstars. And the 40-man shortlist has now been revealed, with some current heavyweights making the cut alongside a few lesser-known names…
Who made the 2022 Golden Boy shortlist?
| Player | Club |
| Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund |
| Eduardo Camavinga | Real Madrid |
| Karim Adeyemi | Red Bull Salzburg/Borussia Dortmund |
| Martin Baturina | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Alejandro Balde | Barcelona |
| Brian Brobbey | RB Leipzig/Ajax |
| Matteo Cancellieri | Verona/Lazio |
| Harvey Elliott | Liverpool |
| Anthony Elanga | Manchester United |
| Sebastiano Esposito | Inter/Basel/Anderlecht |
| Fabio Carvalho | Fulham/Liverpool |
| Fabio Silva | Wolves/Anderlecht |
| Ansu Fati | Barcelona |
| Gavi | Barcelona |
| Wilfried Gnonto | Zurich/Leeds |
| Ryan Gravenberch | Ajax/Bayern Munich |
| Josko Gvardiol | RB Leipzig |
| Henrique Araujo | Benfica |
| Piero Hincapie | Bayer Leverkusen |
| Rasmus Hojlund | Sturm Graz/Atalanta |
| Ansgar Knauff | Borussia Dortmund/Eintracht Frankfurt |
| Castello Lukeba | Lyon |
| Marquinhos | Arsenal |
| Fabio Miretti | Juventus |
| Yunus Musah | Valencia |
| Jamal Musiala | Bayern Munich |
| Nico Gonzalez | Barcelona/Valencia |
| Nuno Mendes | PSG |
| Pedri | Barcelona |
| Yeremi Pino | Villarreal |
| Giovanni Reyna | Borussia Dortmund |
| Giorgio Scalvini | Atalanta |
| Benjamin Sesko | Red Bull Salzburg |
| Jan Thielmann | Koln |
| Destiny Udogie | Udinese/Tottenham |
| Nicola Zalewski | Roma |
| Mathys Tel | Rennes/Bayern Munich |
| Kiliann Sildillia | Freiburg |
| Xavi Simons | PSG/PSV |
| Luka Sucic | Red Bull Salzburg |