Gavi joins Messi, Mbappe and Haaland on list of Golden Boy award winners

The 2022 Golden Boy award, the prestigious honour bestowed upon the champion and brightest young endowment successful European shot each year, has been won by Barcelona midfielder Gavi.

The 18-year-old won the vote from a last database of 20 names which included Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala, Real Madrid's Eduardo Camavinga and his Barca and Spain teammates Ansu Fati and Pedri, who won past year's award.

First established by Italian work Tuttosport successful 2003, the Golden Boy grant is presented annually to the astir awesome subordinate nether the property of 21 playing successful the apical tier of immoderate European league during that calendar year.

The inaugural grant was won by Rafael van der Vaart successful 2003, and since past the prize has been handed to immoderate of the precise biggest names successful some European and satellite football, though determination are galore of this century's astir elite players who person it missing from their resume.

Here's a reminder of each erstwhile Golden Boy victor successful chronological bid and a look astatine whether their respective nonrecreational careers delivered connected their archetypal promise.

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2003: Rafael van der Vaart, Ajax

Creative midfielder Van der Vaart was named arsenic the archetypal ever victor of the Golden Boy contempt repeated wounded issues limiting his playing clip astatine boyhood nine Ajax and hampering him for overmuch of his career. He went connected to correspond Hamburg, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur. He besides won 109 elder caps for Netherlands, including 5 appearances successful their tally to the 2010 World Cup final.

2004: Wayne Rooney, Everton/Manchester United

Rooney had already made the determination from Everton to Manchester United by the clip helium was named Golden Boy successful precocious 2004, pipping caller teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to the grant successful the process acknowledgment to his performances for England astatine Euro 2004. Rooney spent the adjacent 12 years with United and near them arsenic their all-time grounds extremity scorer for a instrumentality to Goodison Park, earlier to spot retired his playing vocation with little stints astatine DC United and Derby County, some of whom helium has besides since coached.

2005: Lionel Messi, Barcelona

Messi was poised connected the precise cusp of greatness erstwhile helium was named Golden Boy successful 2005. Sure enough, the Argentine went connected to go a talisman for Barcelona, winning 33 trophies, scoring 672 goals and claiming 7 Ballon d'Ors with his beloved nine earlier leaving successful 2021 to articulation Paris Saint-Germain. Which is alternatively good.

2006: Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal

Despite lone being 19 astatine the time, Fabregas was already an integral subordinate of the Arsenal archetypal squad having made his elder debut for the nine 3 years earlier and rapidly proving himself a worthy replacement for Patrick Vieira. The Spaniard past spent league title-winning spells with Barcelona and Chelsea earlier winding down astatine Monaco and, latterly, Como 1907 successful Italy's Serie B.

2007: Sergio Aguero, Atletico Madrid

Having burst connected to the country arsenic a prolific teen astatine Independiente and Atletico Madrid, the striker moved to Manchester City successful 2011 and helped spark a caller property of occurrence winning 5 Premier League titles and becoming the club's all-time apical extremity scorer successful the abstraction of 10 seasons. He past moved to Barcelona lone for a antecedently undiagnosed bosom information to unit him into premature status astatine the property of conscionable 33.

2008: Anderson, Manchester United

Anderson was 1 of the astir coveted all-action cardinal midfielders successful satellite shot erstwhile helium was named Golden Boy successful 2008 aft winning the Champions League successful his debut play astatine Manchester United. Unfortunately the Brazilian rapidly ran retired of steam and struggled to present connected his aboriginal committedness during consequent spells with Fiorentina, Internacional, Coritiba and Turkish nine Adana Demirspor, earlier retiring astatine the property of 31.

2009: Alexandre Pato, AC Milan

Another classical lawsuit of "what mightiness person been" had near-relentless wounded woes not blighted the vocation of a gifted, ultra-mobile striker who came flying retired of the blocks astatine Internacional and AC Milan. Now 33, Pato went connected to motion for Corinthians, Chelsea, Villarreal and existent nine Orlando City but has ne'er truly travel adjacent to recapturing the thrilling magic of his aboriginal years.

2010: Mario Balotelli, Inter Milan/Manchester City

Balotelli won the Golden Boy successful 2010 soon aft making his determination from Inter Milan to Manchester City. The infamously self-assured striker accepted the grant with emblematic grace and humility: by pretending he'd ne'er heard of Jack Wilshere (who finished 2nd successful the poll) and past belittling everybody who had won it earlier him: "All the others [winners] are down me. I'm delighted to person the award, but who should person won it but me?" With 8 clubs successful the past 10 years, Balotelli has endured a transient vocation since leaving City taking successful little layovers astatine AC Milan, Liverpool, Nice, Marseille, Brescia, Monza, Adana Demirspor and FC Sion of Switzerland.

2011: Mario Gotze, Borussia Dortmund

Another erstwhile Golden Boy who saw his burgeoning vocation derailed by wounded woes, Gotze suffered a plateau successful his progression aft securing a large determination to Bayern Munich successful 2013. A instrumentality to Dortmund failed to supply overmuch of a catalyst and was subsequently followed by reasonably forgettable spells astatine PSV Eindhoven and Eintracht Frankfurt. However, helium did people the winning extremity for Germany successful the 2014 World Cup final, truthful it's not each been doom and gloom.

2012: Isco, Malaga

Isco seized the Golden Boy successful 2012 aft captivating the full of Spain with his intricate footwork, mazy dribbling and artful creativity with Malaga successful the play they reached the Champions League quarterfinals nether Manuel Pellegrini. He past joined Real Madrid for €30 cardinal and spent 9 trophy-laden seasons astatine the Bernabeu earlier departing for Sevilla up of the 2022-23 season.

2013: Paul Pogba, Juventus

Pogba won the grant successful the archetypal play aft helium initially near Manchester United successful hunt of first-team shot astatine Juventus. He duly scored 5 goals during the 2nd fractional of the 2012-13 play arsenic the Bianconeri claimed the Serie A title. A prodigal instrumentality to Old Trafford followed successful 2016 but the France midfielder failed to person galore fans that helium was worthy the world-record €105m interest it took to bring him back. Six mostly frustratingly inconsistent seasons came and went astatine United earlier Pogba was allowed to shuttle backmost to Juve connected a escaped transportation successful July.

2014: Raheem Sterling, Liverpool

Sterling was a fresh-faced 20-year-old erstwhile helium was named the champion young subordinate successful Europe having proved his worthy to Liverpool with his jinking, fleet-footed helping play that astir helped them extremity their agelong hold for a league title. A monolithic £49m determination to Manchester City saw the guardant triumph 5 Premier League titles successful 7 seasons earlier leaving the Etihad to motion for Chelsea successful July for a akin fee.

2015: Anthony Martial, Monaco/Manchester United

Martial made a meteoric commencement to the commencement of his vocation erstwhile Manchester United decided to marque him the astir costly teen of each clip by signing the 19-year-old from Monaco for an archetypal £36m contempt him lone having 14 elder league appearances nether his belt. Martial past scored a spectacular solo extremity against Liverpool connected his United debut and went connected to beryllium named Golden Boy conscionable a fewer months later, but since past helium has failed to reproduce specified displays connected a regular basis.

2016: Renato Sanches, Benfica/Bayern Munich

Sanches had established himself arsenic 1 to ticker erstwhile helium claimed the Golden Boy successful 2016 owed to his emergence arsenic the driving unit successful the centre of Portugal's European Championship-winning midfield. However, a €35m determination to Bayern Munich (with a further €45m successful add-ons) rapidly turned sour and sparked a wilderness play that included a indebtedness spell astatine Swansea City. However, helium rebuilt his vocation astatine Lille, wherever helium helped them bushed Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title, earlier making the inevitable determination to PSG himself successful the summer.

2017: Kylian Mbappe, Monaco/Paris Saint-Germain

Mbappe rather virtually deed the crushed moving astatine Monaco, wherever helium shone brightest successful the broadside that reached the Champions League semifinals, earlier a season-long indebtedness to Paris Saint-Germain saw him ascend to the adjacent level, winning the Golden Boy successful the play earlier his eventual €180m imperishable determination to the capital. Since past the 23-year-old striker has established himself arsenic a existent superstar, scoring immense droves of goals for nine and state portion forming portion of 1 of the astir decorated attacking lines ever deployed astatine PSG alongside Messi and Neymar (who, you whitethorn person noticed, is not connected this list).

2018: Matthijs de Ligt, Ajax

De Ligt's grant came halfway done the play that transformed him from a promising young Ajax centre-back to a afloat fledged €75m superstar, courtesy of Juventus' generous cheque book. Despite his tender years, the Dutch defender maturely marshalled Ajax to a Champions League semifinal. Now aged 23, De Ligt is simply a Bayern Munich subordinate having made the €77m power to Germany successful the summertime of 2022.

2019: Joao Felix, Benfica/Atletico Madrid

Heralded arsenic the caller Ronaldo astir the clip helium picked up the 2019 Golden Boy, Felix was each acceptable to go the adjacent large happening astatine Atletico Madrid erstwhile they paid €126m to motion him. However, his vocation trajectory hasn't kept gait with the phenomenal hype, and reports present suggest that the 22-year-old guardant is looking for a caller nine aft falling retired of favour with manager Diego Simeone.

2020: Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund

Having been pipped by Felix successful 2019, Haaland continued his one-man goal-scoring battle connected the antiaircraft lines of Europe to beryllium crowned Golden Boy successful 2020 during his clip astatine Dortmund, wherever helium averaged a extremity a game. The Norwegian powerhouse has since moved to Manchester City for €60m wherever helium has continued successful overmuch the aforesaid vein, netting 20 goals successful his archetypal 14 games for the Premier League giants.

2021: Pedri, Barcelona

Technically talented and adept astatine operating successful choky spaces, Pedri has been ordained arsenic the earthy successor to Andres Iniesta astatine Barcelona with bully reason. The young midfielder played an astonishing 75 games for nine and state successful the twelvemonth helium made his debut for Barca, and helium starred for Spain arsenic they reached the semifinals of the European Championship, and earned himself the Golden Boy grant into the bargain.