The race for the 2026 Golden Boy is down to its final 25 players, and one name stands above the rest. Barcelona and Spain defender Pau Cubarsí has emerged as the overwhelming favourite after a remarkable year for club and country, although some of Europe's most exciting young players are still in contention.
Tuttosport unveiled the final shortlist on October 5, reducing its Golden Boy ranking to 25 candidates before the international jury decides the winner. Eight of the finalists currently play in the Premier League, Barcelona have more representatives than any other club, and the combined market value of the candidates has climbed beyond €1.3 billion.
Why is Pau Cubarsí the Golden Boy 2026 favourite?
Cubarsí already had a compelling case after establishing himself as a key Barcelona defender at such a young age, but Spain's World Cup triumph transformed the race. He returned from the tournament as a world champion and its best young player, giving voters the kind of defining achievement that is difficult for any rival to match.
Massimo Franchi, the founder of the Golden Boy award, has gone as far as describing Cubarsí as a 99.9% favourite to win. That does not make the result official — the journalists still have to vote — but it illustrates just how far ahead the Barcelona defender is perceived to be heading into the final stage.
There are serious challengers. Manchester City's Ayyoub Bouaddi, Chelsea's Estêvão, Real Madrid pair Endrick and Yan Diomande, PSG midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery, Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl and Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly are among the biggest names remaining in contention.
Cubarsí nevertheless has something most of them cannot match: elite club performances combined with a defining role in the biggest international tournament of the year. Unless voters produce a major surprise, the Golden Boy trophy appears to be heading back to Barcelona.
Golden Boy 2026 finalists: the full list
The final 25 consist of the top 20 players from the October edition of the Golden Boy Top 100, which is compiled with Transfermarkt, plus five wild-card selections. The official shortlist is:
- Pau Cubarsí — Barcelona
- Marc Bernal — Barcelona
- Xavi Espart — Barcelona
- Ayyoub Bouaddi — Manchester City
- Warren Zaïre-Emery — Paris Saint-Germain
- Yan Diomande — Real Madrid
- Endrick — Real Madrid
- Luka Vušković — Brighton
- Victor Froholdt — Porto
- Myles Lewis-Skelly — Arsenal
- Rayan — Bournemouth
- Eli Junior Kroupi — Bournemouth
- Jorrel Hato — Chelsea
- Estêvão — Chelsea
- Gianluca Prestianni — Benfica
- Konstantinos Karetsas — Borussia Dortmund
- Saïd El Mala — Köln
- Jon Martín — Real Sociedad
- Kerim Alajbegović — Juventus
- Finn Jeltsch — Stuttgart
- Lennart Karl — Bayern Munich
- Charalampos Kostoulas — Brighton
- Joane Gadou — Borussia Dortmund
- Franco Mastantuono — Fiorentina
- Rodrigo Mora — Roma
The Premier League is the best-represented competition with eight finalists, ahead of La Liga with six and the Bundesliga with five. Barcelona lead individual clubs with three nominees, while Karl, born in February 2008, is the youngest player on the shortlist.
Why isn't Lamine Yamal nominated for Golden Boy 2026?
The most obvious omission is Lamine Yamal, especially because he actually sits second in the latest Golden Boy Top 100 ranking. There is a simple explanation: he is not allowed to win it again.
Golden Boy rules prevent a player from winning the award twice, and Yamal already claimed the trophy in 2024. That automatically removes him from the final ballot despite still meeting the age requirements and ranking among the highest-rated young players in Europe.
The same principle means the award continually moves towards the next generation rather than allowing one exceptional teenager to dominate it for several years. Barcelona hardly lack representation without Yamal, however, with Cubarsí joined by Bernal and surprise wild-card selection Espart.
How does Golden Boy voting work?
Golden Boy has been organised by Italian newspaper Tuttosport since 2003 and is designed to recognise the best Under-21 footballer playing for a European club. The initial ranking helps determine the candidates, but an algorithm does not simply hand the trophy to whoever finishes first.
Once the final shortlist has been established, an international jury of 50 journalists from across Europe selects the winner. The 2026 winner will be revealed at a press conference in November, with the trophy ceremony taking place later in Turin.
That leaves enough room for debate over Cubarsí's closest challenger, especially if one of Estêvão, Bouaddi, Endrick or another finalist produces an exceptional run before voting is completed. But after a year in which Cubarsí became a world champion while still a teenager, this Golden Boy race currently looks considerably less open than the 25-player shortlist might suggest.
Published by Patrick Jane
05.10.2026