Lamine Yamal, Kobbie Mainoo and more: 20 finalists for Golden Boy award released

Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal and Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo are among the 20 nominees for the Golden Boy 2024 Award. Both players are academy products of their respective clubs and are among the favorites to win the award.

The Golden Boy is an annual award given by the Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport to the most promising young talent in football for that year. All nominees must be under 21 and must play in a European nation's top-tier league.

Here is the list of the 20 nominees for the Golden Boy Award 2024 (via @FabrizioRomano on X):

• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
• Joao Neves (PSG)
• Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG)
• Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)
• Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona)
• Savinho (Manchester City)
• Rico Lewis (Manchester City)
• Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich)
• Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)
• Jorrel Hato (Ajax)
• Leny Yoro (Manchester United)
• Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Borussia Dortmund)
• Kenan Yildiz (Juventus)
• Cristhian Mosquera (Valencia)
• Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
• Arda Guler (Real Madrid)
• Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich)
• Desire Doue (PSG)
• Oscar Gloukh (FC Red Bull Salzburg)
• Samuel Omorodion (Porto)

Lamine Yamal has enjoyed a meteoric rise in football since making his debut for Barcelona's senior side at just 15. The teenage prodigy has broken multiple records and has been earmarked as the next big thing by many fans and pundits.

In the 2023-24 season, the Spaniard registered seven goals and nine assists in 50 appearances for Barcelona across competitions. Furthermore, he was instrumental in Spain's UEFA Euro 2024 glory, recording four assists and scoring a crucial goal in a 2-1 win against France in the semi-finals.

Mainoo had his breakthrough season for Manchester United in 2023-24, scoring five goals and creating one more in 32 games for the Red Devils across competitions. The English central midfielder also won the 2022-23 Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award.

Mainoo is mostly used as a central midfielder by Erik ten Hag and has established himself as an expert ball distributor and orchestrator for Manchester United. Last season, he maintained an impressive passing accuracy of 87% in the Premier League with an average of four balls recovered per game.

Other notable favorites to win the Golden Boy include Benfica's Joao Neves, Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho, Paris Saint-Germain's Warren Zaire Emery, Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi, and Manchester City's Rico Lewis.

Lamine Yamal and Kobbie Mainoo are also nominated for the 2024 Kopa Trophy

Lamine Yamal and Kobbie Mainoo have also been included in the 10-man shortlist for the 2024 Kopa Trophy. France Football presents the Kopa Trophy every year to the best U-21 talent in world football on the day of the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Lamine Yamal is joined by Barcelona teammate Pau Cubarsi after the latter cemented his place in La Blaugrana's defense last year. Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho joins teammate Kobbie Mainoo on the list of nominees.

Real Madrid's Arda Guler also makes the list along with Manchester City's Savinho. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain are represented by Warren Zaire-Emery.

Here is the full list of the nominees for the 2024 Kopa Award.

• Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona)
• Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)
• Arda Guler (Real Madrid)
• Karim Konate (Red Bull Salzburg)
• Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)
• Joao Neves (Benfica)
• Savinho (Manchester City)
• Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich)
• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
• Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)

The 2024 Kopa Award will be handed out on October 28 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.