MIXED FORTUNES: Every Golden Boy winner and how they fared as eight Prem stars named on 2026 shortlist

The shortlist for the 2026 Golden Boy award is in, with eight Premier League stars included. The esteemed award is regarded as a strong indicator of who's ready to graduate to the upper echelons of the game.

The honour is given to the player who's made the biggest impact and is under the age of 21. That means only players born after 2006 are eligible for the gong this year.

Representing the Premier League are: Chelsea's Estevao and Jorrel Hato; Eli Junior Kroupi and Rayan, both of Bournemouth; Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly; and Brighton's Luka Vuskovic and Charalampos Kostoulas. Manchester City's Ayyoub Bouaddi completes the list.

They will face fierce competition from past winner Lamine Yamal, new £120m Real Madrid signing Yan Diomande and PSG star Warren Zaire-Emery, among others. A host of European journalists will now vote on the next big thing in football, with the ceremony to crown the winner taking place on December 16 in Turin, Italy.

However, the award is by no means a guarantee of success. Here, we take a look at every Golden Boy recipient since the honour was created in 2023. While some winners have gone on to hit great heights, there are one or two others who have struggled to live up to the hype.

The Dutch star won the award while playing for Ajax at 20. Moves to Hamburg, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur followed, but it could be argued he never fully lived up to his true potential. He now works as a pundit after retiring in 2019.

Rooney took the honour shortly after moving from Everton to Manchester United for £30million. Five league titles, a Champions League, FA Cup, three League Cups and the Europa League followed for the man who became United's all-time top scorer and an England legend.

What is there to say? Arguably, the greatest footballer of all time took the award in 2005. Ten La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues, two Ligue 1 championships, eight Ballons d’Or and a World Cup followed. The Argentine now plays for Inter Miami at 39 but has retired from the international game.

The Spaniard was a major player for Arsenal and carried on his form after moving to Barcelona in 2011. He won the World Cup and two European Championships with his country, and secured league titles with Barca and Chelsea. He is now the manager of Serie A side Como.

After winning the award at Atletico Madrid, the Argentine signed for Manchester City in 2011 and scored 260 goals in 390 games for City, winning five Premier League titles, an FA Cup and six League Cups.

Brazilian midfielder Anderson had arrived at United after spells with Gremio and Porto when he won the award. He helped United to four League titles, the Champions League and a League Cup during his eight years at Old Trafford. He struggled for form and retired in 2019 after stints in Brazil and Turkey.

Pato won the Golden Boy award while featuring for AC Milan. The Brazilian forward looked destined for the top until injuries took their toll. Spells in Brazil, a brief stint at Chelsea and time in Spain followed but he retired in 2023 with a Serie A title, a Club World Cup and Italian Super Cup to his name.

The enigmatic star had already played 86 games for Inter Milan, winning three Serie A titles and the Champions League when he took the award. He's had stints at Man City, Liverpool and 11 other clubs. Now 36, Balotelli is still playing for Al-Ittifaq.

Gotze was Germany's next big thing, starring for Borussia Dortmund before moving to Bayern Munich in 2013. The forward scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final but returned to Dortmund in 2016 after struggling to make an impact at the Bavarian giants.

Bursting onto the scene at Malaga, the Spanish international earned a move to Real Madrid, where he played for nine seasons, winning three LaLiga titles and five Champions Leagues.

Pogba starred for the Man United youth academy but left for Juventus in 2012. He made headlines when United shelled out £89m to bring him back to Old Trafford in 2016. Pogba would have a mixed career, dazzling and frustrating in equal measure as he won a whole stash of trophies, including the World Cup with France, along the way. He is now without a club after leaving Monaco in 2026.

After making his name with Liverpool, Sterling joined City in 2015 for £50m. He won four league titles before leaving for Chelsea in 2022. Unsuccessful loans at Arsenal and Feyenoord followed.

Martial joined Man Utd for £50m from Monaco in the summer of 2015 in a move that famously included a Ballon d'Or clause that would have seen the club pay an extra £7.2m had he picked up the top gong. He lasted nine years at Old Trafford, winning the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League. The forward scored 90 goals in 317 games at Old Trafford. He last played for Liga MX club Monterrey.

Sanches won Euro 2016 with Portugal at just 18. But he failed to nail down a spot at most of the clubs he played at, with middling spells at Benfica, Bayern Munich, Swansea and PSG, as he struggled to live up to his early billing.

One of the best strikers in world football. Mbappe left Monaco for PSG in 2017 and won the World Cup in 2018. He scored 256 goals in 308 games for PSG and won six Ligue 1 titles. He moved to Real Madrid in 2024, where he has continued to score freely.

De Ligt announced himself to the world with towering displays at Ajax and won the award for his troubles. The centre-back then joined Juventus and then Bayern Munich before joining Man Utd in the summer of 2024, where he has had to contend with poor form and injuries.

After wowing for Benfica, Felix, 26, signed for Atletico Madrid for a whopping £113m. Frustrating loan spells at Chelsea and Barcelona came later before he signed permanently for the Blues for £45m in 2024. He was loaned to Milan in January 2025 before moving to Al Nassr.

Bursting onto the scene at Dortmund, Haaland joined Manchester City in 2022 and led them to the treble in his first season. He has scored 169 goals in 205 games and 65 in 59 appearances for Norway.

Pedri, 23, moved to Barcelona from Las Palmas and has become a key figure. At 23, he has won three La Liga titles, two domestic cups, Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup.

Along with Pedri, Gavi, 22, was viewed as Barca's next superstar and received the Golden Boy in 2022. Despite injury setbacks, he helped Spain win the World Cup this summer and already has three La Liga titles under his belt.

Bellingham had already moved to Real Madrid for £115m by the time he was bestowed with the Golden Boy award. The 23-year-old won a La Liga and Champions League double in 2024 and is a central figure for England.

A true prodigy. At just 16, Yamal became the linchpin for Barcelona and won Euro 2024 with Spain. He has won three LaLiga titles with Barca and won the World Cup this summer.

Doue, 21, joined PSG from Rennes and has become a superstar. He has won the Champions League twice, scoring twice in the final against Inter Milan in 2024.