Barcelona defender to finish second behind Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham in Golden Boy Award

According to Spanish publication MARCA, Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde has finished in 2nd place in the Golden Boy award along with Bayern Munich youngster Jamal Musiala.

The one who will finish at the top of the tally and bag the honour in all his rights will be Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham.

The Golden Boy Award is organised by the Italian sports publication Tuttosport and it has been in existence since 2003. 

This accolade is presented annually to the most exceptional male football player under the age of 21 based in Europe during the calendar year. The recipient of this honour is meticulously selected by an international panel of esteemed journalists.

Barcelona’s dominance finally put to rest

The Golden Boy Award has been won by a Barcelona player in each of the last two editions. In 2021, Pedri’s excellence sealed him the honour while in 2022, it was Gavi who brought home the title.

As such, Barcelona are tied with Premier League side Manchester United as the team with the most Golden Boy recipients. Before Pedri and Gavi, it was Lionel Messi – in 2005 – who became the first Barcelona player to win this award.

Barcelona have two representatives from the long 25-player list in the nomination of the award. This includes Balde and a certain Lamine Yamal, who is enjoying a fantastic season under Xavi.

In this calendar year, Balde has been performing exceptionally well, but Bellingham’s performances with Borussia Dortmund last season and Real Madrid now seem to have sealed the deal in his favour.

After all, he has scored 13 goals in as many matches for the team this season. This means he is only two goals away from reaching the best goal-scoring figure of his career.