REAL MADRID
Bellingham to win Golden Boy as Real Madrid star dominates vote
Jude Bellingham, who was Madrid’s two-goal hero in Saturday’s Clásico win over Barcelona, is to scoop the Tuttosport award next month.
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham is poised to scoop the 2023 Golden Boy award in just under two weeks’ time, having overwhelmingly won the vote for the young-player-of-the-year accolade.
Bellingham, who was Madrid’s match winner in this weekend’s Clásico against Barcelona, has seen off players such as Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund, Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal to claim the award.
Golden Boy to be presented early next month
Organised by the Italian sports publication Tuttosport since 2003, the Golden Boy is given to the calendar year’s outstanding Europe-based men’s soccer player under the age of 21. The recipient of the award is chosen by an international jury of journalists from newspapers including AS.
Bellingham, who will be the first footballer ever to win the Golden Boy while playing for Madrid, is to be officially crowned at a ceremony in Turin on 10 November.
Bellingham follows in Messi, Mbappé, Haaland footsteps
The 20-year-old will succeed 2022 winner Gavi, who was the second Barça player in a row to pick up the accolade. Blaugrana club-mate Pedri was the 2021 recipient of the Golden Boy, which has also been won by stars such as Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
Unreal Real start seals deal
A beaten Golden Boy nominee in 2021 and 2022, Bellingham has won over the jury this year thanks, in no small part, to his astonishing start to life at Madrid. Since moving to the Bernabéu in a €103 million summer transfer from Borussia Dortmund, he has scored 13 goals in his first 13 appearances for Los Blancos, including a decisive double to secure a 2-1 win over Barça on Saturday.
The England star received AS’s top vote for the 2023 Golden Boy, whose jury are asked to list their choices in order of preference. In total, he was the first pick for around 95% of the media outlets involved in the selection process.
Bellingham will be the first Englishman to win the Golden Boy since Raheem Sterling in 2014.