Barcelona and Spain midfielder Pedri is the runaway favourite to land this year’s Golden Boy award, which is awarded to the top under-21 player in Europe.
The Canarian teenager has taken the world by storm in the last year, quickly making himself a key player for Barcelona as well as representing his country at both Euro 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics. Despite his tender years, Pedri exudes an incredible class on the pitch and, despite being almost unheard of little more than a year ago, often looks the best player on the park, no matter the opposition.
Italian sports paper Tuttosport has identified the 19-year-old has the leader in the race for the 2021 Golden Boy, with the rest of the pack trailing in his wake.
Some of the other contenders who made the top 40 after Thursday’s cut include new Real Madrid signing Eduardo Camavinga and Pedri’s teammate Eric Garcia. Also representing LaLiga Santander are Ander Barrenetxea (Real Sociedad) and Yeremy Pino (Villarreal).
Tuttosport has been handing out this award since 2003 and last year’s winner was Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund. The first ever winner was Rafael Van der Vaart.
Amongst the frontrunners chasing Pedri are Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jude Bellingham (Dortmund) and Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich).
Fans can vote on the Italian paper’s website and the list will be cut from 40 to 20 in October. Journalists from around Europe will then vote for the overall winner.
