5 of The Greatest Golden Boy Award Winners

 

5 of The Greatest Golden Boy Award Winners

 

Although Anderson and Alexandre Pato had promising starts to their careers, they have since faded away. Several other players, like Isco and Mario Gotze, have had great success, but have slowed down recently. Even though Paul Pogba has won this year’s prestigious prize, he didn’t make our list. To that end, the following are the five greatest Golden Boy award winners:

5. Raheem Sterling – Liverpool

With Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge as his team-mates at Liverpool, Raheem Sterling was named Golden Boy of the Year in 2014. A year later, he signed for Manchester City in a highly contentious deal, and he has since elevated his game to entirely new heights. At 25, he is largely considered to be one of Europe’s top attacking wingers.

4. Kylian Mbappe 2017, PSG.

Kylian Mbappe was a then 18-year-old PSG loanee when he won the Golden Boy award in 2017. His achievements with Monaco during the 2016-17 season earned him this prestigious award. Mbappe scored 26 goals and set up 14 others as Monaco snatched the Ligue 1 title from Paris St. Germain. They also went all the way to the Champions League semi-finals, which was an unforgettable experience. Monaco advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League by defeating Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. Mbappe earned the Golden Boy award ahead of a number of other players, including Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, AC Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus.

3. Wayne Rooney – Manchester United (2004)

Manchester United’s all-time leading scorer barely scrapes into the top two. A trophy-laden career with England, Wayne Rooney has nearly been overlooked because of the high expectations he was put under as a youngster. In terms of his achievements as a player for Manchester United and England, his records speak for themselves.

2. Sergio Aguero (2007)

In the midst of a power shift in the north-west, Sergio Aguero’s entrance to Manchester City coincided with the rise of Atletico Madrid, where he made his name. In 2012, he scored the winning goal in the Premier League final against QPR, which was one of football’s most memorable moments.

1. Lionel Messi

Only one man could be at the top of this particular list, though. Lionel Messi was awarded the Golden Boy award in 2005, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo did not. When he was just a kid, it seemed obvious that Messi would go on to become one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Messi, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, is widely regarded as the best player in the history of the sport.

Photo Credit: Google

 

Desire Paul