Five current Bundesliga players have made the 2026 Golden Boy top 25, with Bayern Munich’s Lennart Karl, Cologne’s Said El Mala and Stuttgart defender Finn Jeltsch representing Germany’s national-team pathway.
- The Golden Boy award, launched in 2003, recognises Europe’s leading under-21 player. Rafael van der Vaart was the first winner.
- Past recipients include Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, Mario Götze, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal and 2025 winner Désiré Doué.
- The 2026 shortlist of 25 was presented in Venice on Monday. The winner will be named in Turin in early December.
- A player may win the main Golden Boy prize only once. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, the 2024 winner, is therefore ineligible.
- Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsí, 19, is viewed as the leading candidate. The Spain World Cup winner is a regular in Barca’s defence.
- Ayyoub Bouaddi, Manchester City’s €100m signing, and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery are also among the prominent candidates.
- Former Hamburg player Luka Vušković, now at Brighton, and former RB Leipzig player Yan Diomande, now at Real Madrid, are included.
- Karl is joined by El Mala, who has recently made his senior international debut, and Jeltsch, who has received a first call-up from Germany coach Jürgen Klopp.
- Borussia Dortmund’s Greek player Konstantinos Karetsas and Frenchman Joane Gadou complete the current Bundesliga contingent.
- A 50-journalist European panel will select the winner. Supporters are voting separately for the Golden Boy Web award.
- Bellingham won both the jury prize and the web award in 2023 while at Dortmund.
What it changes in the Bundesliga week
The shortlist puts the focus on five young players already working inside Bundesliga first-team squads. Karl, El Mala and Jeltsch arrive with Germany recognition attached, while Dortmund have two prospects in Karetsas and Gadou on the European list. The domestic league will not supply the favourite, but it remains well represented in the final 25.
