Jude Bellingham wins 2023 Golden Boy Award
Ancelotti isn't concerned about scoring goals without Bellingham (0:59).
The coach of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, has stated that his team has many options available and does not depend solely on Jude Bellingham to score. (0:59)
On November 17, 2023 at 3:48 PM.
In 2023, Jude Bellingham received the prestigious Golden Boy award for his exceptional performance as a young footballer on the global stage. Throughout the year, he exhibited his talent and gained recognition as one of the most promising players in the sport.
Many people predicted that the 20-year-old would win the prize due to his outstanding displays for England, Borussia Dortmund, and Real Madrid. His performances were so impressive that he surpassed competitors such as Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala and Barcelona's Alejandro Balde.
Catch the latest matches on ESPN+ featuring LaLiga, Bundesliga, and more in the U.S. Real Madrid's Bellingham has been on a roll when it comes to scoring goals. Wondering why? Keep reading to find out.
The prize, created by the Italian newspaper Tuttosport, is rewarded to the most outstanding athlete under 21 years old in Europe throughout a yearly period.
Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, and Lionel Messi are among the past victors. The 2022 Golden Boy was awarded to Barça's Gavi.
On Friday, there were other accolades revealed too. Edu Gaspar, the sporting director of Arsenal, was awarded the title of Best European Manager, while Tony Bloom, from Brighton, was recognized as the Best European President.
Bellingham has been performing remarkably well for Madrid ever since he joined the club for an initial amount of €103 million ($112.18m) back in June. This ex-Birmingham City player has managed to score a total of 10 goals in just 11 LaLiga matches during this season.
The manager of Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, expressed his surprise at Bellingham's ability to score goals after he scored two goals in their 2-1 victory over Barça in El Clásico on October 28. Ancelotti also said that, at the moment, Bellingham is the player who is having a significant impact on the game.
The midfielder had a great three-year run with Dortmund, but unfortunately, they weren't able to clinch the Bundesliga championship in a heart-wrenching manner. Bayern managed to beat them on the very last day of the 2022-23 season.
Since his impressive display at the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, Bellingham has been an instrumental player in Gareth Southgate's England team. Although England was unfortunately eliminated by France at the quarterfinal stage, Bellingham's contribution did not go unnoticed.
Bellingham skipped Madrid's big victory over Valencia due to problems with his left shoulder, specifically having issues with the front area. Unfortunately, he also had to step back from England's squad before their upcoming games against Malta and North Macedonia due to injury.
There were additional players nominated for the 2023 Golden Boy award. This included Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig, Warren Zaïre-Emery from Paris Saint-Germain, Levi Colwill from Chelsea, and Evan Ferguson from Brighton.
Bellingham is set to accept the award on December 4 during a gathering in Turin.
"Golden Boy" Shortlisted:
Real Madrid has Jude Bellingham, Bayern Munich has Jamal Musiala, RB Leipzig has Xavi Simons, Benfica has António Silva, Barcelona has Alejandro Balde, Bayer Leverkusen has Florian Wirtz, RB Leipzig has Benjamin Sesko, Atalanta has Giorgio Scalvini, Manchester United has Rasmus Højlund, Chelsea has Levi Colwill, PSV Eindhoven has Johan Bakayoko, Bournemouth has Milos Kerkez, Antwerp has Arthur Vermeeren, Brighton has Evan Ferguson, FC Salzburg has Lucas Gourna-Douath, Paris Saint-Germain has Warren Zaïre-Emery, Sporting Lisbon has Ousmane Diomande, Girona has Arnau Martínez, Bayern Munich has Mathys Tel, Lens has Andy Diouf, Real Madrid has Arda Güler, Genk has Bilal El Khannouss, Dinamo Zagreb has Martin Baturina, and Benfica has João Neves. Barcelona also has Lamine Yamal.
