2025 Golden Boy power rankings: PSG wonderkid has one hand on trophy
Rising stars from Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona, Juventus and Arsenal are among the leading contenders for the 2025 Golden Boy award.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal claimed the award last year, following in the footsteps of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham.
Without further ado, here are our power rankings of the 10 most likely contenders. We’ll be keeping this one updated throughout 2025.
Note: Only players under the age of 21 are eligible to win the award and anyone who turns 21 in 2025 is ineligible. To be in contention, a player must be in a top-flight European league, while previous winners such as Yamal can’t win it twice.
10. Tom Bischof (-1)
Not the most glamorous selection here, Bischof is far from a household name.
But he’s been quietly brilliant for Hoffenheim this season. So good, in fact, that Bayern Munich have snapped him up for next season after his contract expired.
One to watch.
9. Senny Mayulu (NEW)
Call us overly reactive, but a goal in a Champions League final – albeit a fairly meaningless one – is one way to make yourself noticed.
The 19-year-old has only been a fringe player at PSG this season but he’s shown some real moments of quality in his brief cameos.
8. Eliesse Ben Seghir (=)
Monaco have produced countless brilliant players over the years, from Thierry Henry to Kylian Mbappe. And now they boast another gem.
Twenty-year-old Morocco international Ben Seghir notched six goals and three assists in Ligue 1 in 2024-25.
7. Warren Zaire-Emery (-1)
“This would feel a bit like the time James Milner won PFA Young Player of the Year in 2010 – eight years after first making his debut for Leeds United,” we wrote in our first edition of this ranking, with Zaire-Emery in the top spot, back in early March.
“Zaire-Emery wouldn’t be quite so egregious. But it’s easy to forget that he’s still only 18, given he’s already notched over a hundred games for boyhood club PSG.”
The midfielder undoubtedly remains one of the most talented youngsters in Europe, but his stock has taken a hit in PSG’s historic treble triumph.
Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves have locked down their spots as the first-choice midfield trio. It’s hard to shine when you’re not getting minutes on the biggest stage.
6. Ethan Nwaneri (-1)
It’s been over two and a half years since Nwaneri became the youngest debutant in Premier League history.
Mikel Arteta has been patient with the Hale End wonderkid, waiting until this season to properly integrate him into the first-team setup.
An injury crisis in the attack department has given Nwaneri a run of starts and he took that opportunity and run with it.
You imagine he’ll get more opportunities in the run-in as Arteta rotates his squad, but after the return of star man Bukayo Saka, he took a step back to the periphery.
Much more to come from this kid, and you imagine he could seriously challenge in the next year or two.
READ: Where are they now? The four 17-year-olds to score a Champions League knockout stage goal
5. Assane Diao (NEW)
Cesc Fabregas’ Como have been one of the stories of the 2024-25, ending up in the top half of the table in their first season up in Serie A.
Among their outstanding talents is 19-year-old Senegal international Diao, who has made a blinding start to life in Italy after arriving from Real Betis for a €12million fee.
That looks like one of the bargains of 2025 already. He’s notched eight goals in first 15 Serie A appearances, including a late match-winner over the champions Napoli. An immense talent.
4. Myles Lewis-Skelly (-1)
What a breakthrough season it’s been for the Hale Ender.
Silverware might’ve just been out of reach, while he suffered an unfortunate disciplinary record, but in a matter of months Lewis-Skelly has burst onto the scene and looked capable of nailing down his spot as Arsenal’s left-back for years to come.
The only question is whether the Gunners can hold onto their homegrown star. You look at the manner of his supremely unruffled performances against Real Madrid, and it’s no wonder that Los Blancos are reportedly eyeing him up as he approaches the final year of his current deal.
3. Dean Huijsen (+1)
“The last six Golden Boy award winners have represented the following clubs: Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Barcelona,” we began our entry for Huijsen in the last update of this list back in April.
“So with no disrespect to Bournemouth, Huijsen probably doesn’t have the platform to launch a serious challenge for the award. But he’s certainly making a decent fist of it with Andoni Iraola’s Cherries.”
How quickly things change, eh?
Real Madrid acted decisively to activate the 20-year-old centre-back has a £50million release clause. A potentially generational talent that has all the tools to be the bedrock of the impending Xabi Alonso project. Watch this space.
2. Pau Cubarsi (=)
Seldom can we remember a centre-half bursting onto the scene and taking senior men’s football in their stride so comfortably.
The La Masia graduate only turned 18 in January and he’s a mainstay of Hansi Flick’s side, with over 50 appearances under his belt in 2024-25.
Outrageously gifted.
1. Desire Doue (=)
Not to blow our own trumpet, but we already had Doue as the frontrunner back in April.
And now there can be no questioning the award will be his after his Champions League final masterclass. Two goals and an assist on the biggest stage in club football.
The likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo never managed three goal contributions in a Champions League final. And Doue managed it at the age of 19.
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