Have the winners of the Golden Boy award lived up to their potential?

Over the years we have seen some of these players live up to their potential, but some have also failed to deliver on the biggest stage.

Planet Sport looks back at all the award winners since its inception in 2003.

2003: Rafael van der Vaart (club at time of award - Ajax)

The Dutch midfielder broke through Ajax’s academy in 2000, he would go onto make 177 appearances scoring 52 goals in the process.

After injuries hindered his game time Van der Vaart looked elsewhere and ended up at Hamburg in Germany in 2005.

His time in Germany was a successful one, he became the club captain in his second season and had Real Madrid sniffing around him. But he promised the Hamburg fans one more campaign.

In his final year Van der Vaart would go on to score 12 league goals as he helped the team finish in fourth place.

Real Madrid finally got their main in the summer of 2008, with the Spanish giants shelling out £11.2million for his signature.

However, his spell in Spain was a difficult one, and he struggled for minutes as Kaka joined the club and was arguably one of the best players in the world.

Van der Vaart also struggled to create a good relationship with the coaches, both Juande Ramos and Manuel Pellegrini did not see eye-to-eye with the midfielder.

In 2010, he joined Tottenham Hotspur, and impressed the Spurs faithful during his two years in North London with 24 goals in 63 appearances.

After leaving Spurs in 2012, he returned for a second spell at Hamburg, then Betis, Midtjylland and Esbjerg. Before officially retiring in 2018 with a 109 international caps under his belt.

A small handful of trophies, including the Eredivisie (twice) and the Danish Superliga, isn’t a great haul for one who promised so much.

Verdict: Miss

 
2004: Wayne Rooney (Everton/Man Utd)

Wayne Rooney put himself on the map after scoring five days before his 17th birthday in a 2-1 win against Arsenal back in 2002.

After an outstanding European Championships in 2004 Rooney had the pick of all the top clubs to choose from.

The Englishmen went onto sign for Manchester United in the summer of 2004 for a fee of around £27million.

Rooney’s career at United speaks for itself, his time at Old Trafford saw him win 13 major honours including five Premier League titles, four League Cups and one FA Cup, as well as the Champions League, Europa League and the Club World Cup.

Rooney never struggled to find the back of the net in his career, currently he is Manchester United’s all-time leading goal scorer with 253 goals.

It was not just United where he produced the goals, for England he scored 53 times and was the top scorer for just under eight years, before Harry Kane overtook the Manchester United legend in March 2023.

After a 13 year-spell in Manchester Rooney would re-join Everton and go onto make 31 appearances in the 2017/18 season and score ten goals.

Rooney would then have a spell in America for DC United before hanging up his boots in 2021 whilst playing for Derby County.

A successful playing career and he now looks to replicate that as a manager…which isn’t going that well at the moment.

Verdict: Hit

 

2005: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Arguably the greatest player this sport has ever seen, Lionel Messi’s career has simply been a joy to watch.

The Argentine made his Barcelona debut in October 2004, and the rest is history. Across 17 years in Spain, Messi scored 672 times in 778 appearances.

Messi and Barcelona dominated Spain for many years, he collected ten La Liga medals, seven Copa del-Reys, eight Spanish Super Cups, four Champions Leagues, three European Super Cups and three Club World Cups.

Messi hasn’t just picked up team awards, he has won the Ballon d’or a record breaking eight times.

He surprisingly left his beloved Barcelona for Paris- Saint Germain in the summer of 2021. With the Spanish giants in debt of £1.2 billion they could not offer their star man a new contract.

When joining PSG, him, Neymar and Mbappe were expected to lead the French club to Champions League glory, however they failed to do that as they were knocked out both times in the round of sixteen.

His international career is less trophy filled but he has still collected two significant crowns.

In 2021 Messi tasted his first success with Argentina after beating Brazil 1-0 in the Copa America final, then in 2022 he lifted the World Cup as Argentina beat France on penalties in Qatar.

Messi dragged Argentina to victory scoring seven goals in the process which saw him named as the player of the tournament.

He is now playing out in America for Inter Miami, where he will be hoping to add to his 44 trophies.

Verdict: Hit
 

2006: Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

Across an eight-year spell for Arsenal, Fabregas cemented himself as a key figure in a side he captained the club for three years. The summer of 2011 saw Fabregas return to boy-hood club Barcelona for £29million.

His time at the Nou-Camp saw him over-shadowed by the likes of Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets. However, in his three-year spell there Barcelona picked up six trophies including the La Liga title in 2013 with a 100 points.

The midfielder returned to London to join Chelsea for a fee of £28million in 2014. In his first year at the club, he picked up his first ever Premier League winners medal in his ninth attempt.

That season he registered 18 assists, only two off the record held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

Fabregas left Chelsea in 2019 after making 198 appearances for the club, and joined Monaco where he spent three seasons in France.

He joined Italian side Como in 2022 as player-coach, before retiring from playing in 2023 aged 36.

Verdict: Hit

 
2007: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)

After lighting up the Argentinian league with Independiente, Atletico Madrid got their hands on the striker for a reported fee of £17.3 million.

Aguero would not disappoint while playing in Madrid. He was a part of the team that won the Europa League in 2010, breaking the side's 14-year trophy drought.

After scoring 100 goals in Spain, rising force Manchester City came knocking. They were after a top goal scorer and forked out £35million for Aguero’s signature; he was certainly worth every penny.

City fans knew they had a gem on their hands, in a 30-minute debut he scored twice against newly promoted Swansea City.

On the final day of that season, he produced the most memorable Premier League highlight as he scored a 93rd minute winner against Queens Park Rangers to help City snatch the league title away from their arch-rivals Manchester United.

Aguero would go onto become City’s all-time top scorer, scoring 260 goals in 390 appearances for the club.

Since 2011 City have been the dominant side in England, while at the club Aguero would pick up 12 trophies including a golden boot which saw him score 26 times in 33 appearances in the 2014/15 season.

After ten years at the club Aguero left for Barcelona, however his spell at the Nou Camp didn’t last long as he was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia forcing him to retire in 2021.

Verdict: Hit

 
2008: Anderson (Manchester United)

In 2007 Manchester United announced they would be signing Brazil wonder-kid Anderson from Porto for a fee in the region of £20million.

But his time in Manchester was massively impacted by injuries, he missed 84 games across an eight-year spell.

The Brazilian would have some positive moments in a red shirt, he scored the winning penalty in the League Cup final in 2009 as United beat Spurs at Wembley.

In 2011 he scored twice in a 4-1 victory against Schalke in the champions league semi-final, the games aggregate score was 6-1.

Unfortunately for Anderson and his team-mates they came up short to a superb Barcelona side who beat United 3-1 at Webley.

In 2015, Anderson left Manchester United and returned to Brazil after by manager Louis Van Gaal decided not to offer him a new contract.

Verdict: Miss

 

2009: Alexandre Pato (AC Milan)

Pato signed for AC Milan from Internacional in August 2007 for a reported fee of £20million, however the Brazilian couldn’t make his debut until January 2008 due to FIFA football regulations regarding non-EU minors. Therefore, he had to wait until January for the Italian registration window re-opened.

In his first two seasons in Italy, he was showing why all the top clubs wanted him.

He won the 2009 Serie A Young Player of the Year award and also scored two goals in a 3-2 win at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions' League group stages.

Just as Pato was showing his talent off to the world injuries started to build up, from 2011-2013 he missed a total of 59 games for AC Milan.
Milan decided to cut ties with the Brazilian, selling him to Corinthians for £13million in January 2013.

Since leaving Milan, Pato has failed to reach similar levels to his performances in 2009. He is now playing for Sao Paulo.

Verdict: Miss

 
2010: Mario Balotelli (Inter Milan/Man City)

Mario Balotelli made his debut for Inter Milan in December 2007 after replacing David Suazo in a 2-0 win against Cagliari.

At Inter, Balotelli had several disciplinary issues, one including not putting enough effort in when training.

Jose Mourinho the Inter boss at the time said: “a young boy cannot afford to train less than the likes of Figo, Cordoba and Zanetti.” In 2010 Balotelli was part of that Inter team that won the treble.

Manchester City signed the Italian striker for £18.8million in the summer of 2010, like his time in Milan Balotelli had many disciplinary issues.

In the 2011/12 season Balotelli received four red cards in all competitions, which made manager Roberto Mancini consider selling the Italian.

On the final day of the 2011/12 Premier League season Balotelli produced his only Premier league assist as he set up Sergio Aguero for the winner as City went on to win the Premier League.

After leaving City Balotelli has had spells back in Italy, France, and another in England with Liverpool, he is now playing for Adana Demirspor in Turkey.

Verdict: Miss

 
2011: Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund)

Mario Gotze joined Borussia Dortmund’s academy at the age of eight, he made his Bundesliga debut for the club in November 2009.

During his time at the club, he helped Dortmund win back-to-back titles from the 10/11 season to 11/12.

Dortmund set a record number of points to win the league in 2012 with 81, that season they also picked up the DFB Pokal trophy as they beat Bayern Munich 5-2 in the final.

Borussia Dortmund reached the 2013 Champions league final at Wembley where they would take on Bayern Munich. But Bayern would run out 2-1 winners and go on to complete a significant treble.

Unluckily for Gotze he could not play in the final as he picked up a thigh injury against Real Madrid in the semi-final.

In April 2013, Bayern Munich triggered Gotze’s release clause of £32million, at the time it made him the most expensive German player.

But his time in Munich was a difficult one. He struggled to find a spot in the side and was massively affected by injuries.

In a three-year spell for the Bavarians, he only managed to make 73 appearances. With all these injuries affecting the German, he still managed to get back injury free for the Word Cup in 2014.

For the World Cup final he had to wait 88 minutes to finally get his chance on the world stage. In the 113th minute the ball sat up for him on his left foot and he managed to squeeze his volley past Argentina keeper Sergio Romero from a tight angle.

That was the only goal in the game and Germany were crowned as world champions.

Gotze returned to Dortmund in 2016 but failed to replicate his form from his first spell, he is now playing for Eintracht Frankfurt.

Verdict: Miss

 

2012: Isco (Malaga)

Malaga signed Isco for £5.1million from Valencia in the summer of 2011 and the fans loved him from day one.

In the 2012/13 season Malaga finished in sixth position and reached the Champions League quarter-final only to be knocked out in the last minute by Borussia Dortmund.

In June 2013, Real Madrid and Malaga agreed a £26million deal for Isco. On the 18th of August 2013 He made his debut in August at the Bernabeu and picked up an assist and scored the winner.

Just like many players on this list Isco was not a guaranteed starter, in front of him he had Modric, Kroos, Casemiro, Khedira and James Rodriguez.

Most Real Madrid managers struggled to find a role where Isco could excel and after nine years at the club, which saw him collect five Champions League trophies, Isco departed for Sevilla.

After only making 12 appearances for Sevilla last season, Isco joined Real Betis.

Verdict: Miss
 

2013: Paul Pogba (Juventus)

Paul Pogba left Manchester United’s academy in the summer of 2012 for Juventus to look for more first team opportunities.

Pogba’s time at Juventus was one that his fans will never forget. From 2012- 2016 Pogba picked up nine trophies including four straight Scudettos. 

Manchester United realised how big of a mistake they made by letting Pogba go on a free transfer, in the summer of 2016 United broke the world record transfer fee to re-sign the French international for £89million.

In his first season Pogba helped United win the Community Shield, the Carabao Cup and the Europa League, but overall, his time at the club was a disappointment.

Pogba’s regularly clashed with then United manager Jose Mourinho, but he outlasted the former Chelsea manager who was sacked in December 2018 after a poor run of results.

The summer of 2018 is the highlight of Pogba’s career as he lifted the World Cup with France after having a fantastic tournament in Russia.

Pogba was sensational in that final as France ran out 4-2 winners with Pogba helping himself to a goal.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became the United manager and he looked to be getting the best out of Pogba. In a disappointing season for United in 2018/19 Pogba was still named in the Premier League team of the season.

His time at United was hindered by injuries, he missed 115 matches whilst representing United.

After six years at the club, he re-joined Juventus on a free transfer, however his second spell really hasn’t gone to plan as he has only made thirteen appearances since re-joining the Bianconeri in the summer of 2022.

Pogba is currently suspended from football after a B sample confirmed a positive drugs test which detected testosterone.

Verdict: Hit (when he wants to be)
 

2014: Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

Raheem Sterling became the first Englishmen in over ten years to win this award after Wayne Rooney.

At just twenty years old Sterling just fell short of being crowned a Premier League champion with Liverpool, after forming part of one of the deadliest front threes including himself, Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez.

In the summer of 2015 Sterling would join Manchester City for £49million. He went on to score 131 goals in 339 matches, putting himself second in the all-time goal list for City.

From the years 2015- 2022 he picked up 12 trophies including four Premier League titles.

On a personal level Sterling was crowned as the young PFA player of the year in 2019 as his goals helped City win the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Community Shield.

Sterling has played a crucial role at international level for England.

He has played in five tournaments helping England to a semi-final finish in the 2018 World Cup and runners up in the European Championships in 2021.

He was named in the Euros team of the tournament as he scored three goals and won the penalty against Denmark which Harry Kane converted in the semi-final.

Sterling departed Manchester and joined Chelsea in the summer of 2022. But the 2022/23 season was certainly one to forget for Chelsea as they finished in 12th place in the Premier League.

Verdict: Hit

 
2015: Anthony Martial (Monaco/Man Utd)

In the 2014/15 season Anthony Martial scored nine goals in 36 Ligue 1 games for Monaco. That season Monaco finished in third place and reached the quarter finals of the Champions League knocking out Arsenal along the way.

Manchester United came calling and Martial signed for United on September 1, 2015.

His debut couldn’t have gone any better as he calmly slotted the ball past Simon Mignolet to give United all three points against archrivals Liverpool.
Louis Van Gaal got the best out of the Frenchmen as he scored 18 goals in all competitions to help United win the FA Cup in 2016.

Just like Pogba, Martial has struggled to put together back-to-back consistent seasons while in Manchester.

His best season in a red shirt came in 2019/20 season where he netted 23 goals in 48 appearances for the Red Devils. That season he scored some important goals against Man City home and away and Chelsea home and away as United finished third in the Premier League.

Since that season Martial really has struggled. Even a loan to Sevilla in January 2022 couldn’t rediscover his form as he only found the back of the net once while in Spain.

Verdict: Miss

 
2016: Renato Sanches (Benfica/ Bayern Munich)

In his debut season, Sanches helped Benfica win the Primeira Liga and the Portuguese League Cup in 2015/16.

But he really showcased his talent at the 2016 Euros where he was named young player of the tournament as he helped his nation lift the trophy.

Bayern Munich swooped in and made sure they got their man for £30million.

However, his time at Bayern was a letdown, in his first season he only started four Bundesliga matches and only completed one full game.

To get more playing time then Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti sent him on loan to Swansea City in 2017. Unfortunately, this didn’t help Sanches’ fortunes as he only played 12 matches and Swansea were relegated from the Premier League.

Bayern cut ties with the Portuguese midfielder as he joined Lille in the summer of 2019.

His stint at Lille was excellent, in 2020/21 Sanches and Lille were crowned Ligue 1 winners for the first time in ten years as they beat Angers away 2-1 to beat Paris Saint Germain to the title by one point.

Sanches would sign for PSG in 2022 but once again struggled for game time due injuries and players ahead of him in the pecking order.

He is currently on loan at Jose Mourinho’s Roma.

Verdict: Miss

2017: Kylian Mbappe (Monaco/PSG)

Kylian Mbappe put his name in the lights during the 2016/17 season as he grabbed six goals in the Champions League and helped Monaco reach the semi-finals. Monaco would go on to win the Ligue 1 title that year for the first time in 17 years.

Mbappe swapped Monaco for Paris in the summer of 2017 to form a deadly trio with Neymar and Edinson Cavani.

Since he joined PSG, the club have only failed to win the league title once after losing out to Lille in 2021.

Mbappe has won 13 trophies and has finished as the Ligue 1 top scorer for four seasons in a row.

His international career is phenomenal, at just 19 he won the World Cup with France in Russia and was the runner-up in 2022. In Qatar he scored eight goals, including a hat-trick in the final, which France lost on penalties to Argentina.

Despite all his achievements in France, a Champion's League medal is still missing from his trophy cabinet.

Verdict: Hit

 
2018: Matthijs De Ligt (Ajax)

Matthijs De Ligt joined the Ajax academy aged nine. In 2017, he became the youngest player ever to play in a European Cup final aged 17 years and 285 days as Ajax faced Manchester United in Stockholm.

The Dutchman became the first ever defender to win the Golden Boy award in December 2018.

De Ligt was part of the 2019 Ajax team that was a pleasure to watch. On their way to the Champions League semi-final they knocked out Real Madrid and favourites for the tournament Juventus. Ajax lost to Spurs on away goals as a Lucas Moura hat-trick broke Ajax fans hearts.

That summer De Ligt signed for Serie A champions Juventus for £65million. In his first season Juventus were crowned as champions, winning the league by one point.

As his time went on at Juventus, they struggled to find that form again resulting in back-to-back fourth place finishes.

The defender made the move across to Munich in the summer of 2022 and helped the club win their 10th consecutive Bundesliga title. 

Verdict: Hit

 
2019: Joao Felix (Benfica/Atletico Madrid)

Joao Felix made his debut for Benfica in a 2-0 away win at Boavista in August 2018.

Felix revealed his talent to the footballing world as he scored a hat-trick against Frankfurt in the Europa League in April 2019, becoming the youngest player to achieve this feat at just 19 years and 152 days.

His stellar performances led to Atletico Madrid to fork out a whopping £113million for his services making the Portuguese star the fourth most expensive transfer in the world.

But Felix has struggled to find his feet at Atletico under this heft price tag, with many arguing that he does not fit with manager Diego Simeone's defensive system.

The 2020/21 season brought success for Felix and his teammates, as Atletico were crowned La Liga winners beating their archrivals Real Madrid to the title by two points. But Felix still struggled - producing 16 goal involvements in 40 matches.

In January 2023 with Felix struggling for form, he looked for a new challenge on loan at Chelsea in the Premier League.

His debut was a disaster as he was dismissed in the 58th minute for a late tackle on Fulham right-back Kenny Tete. With just four goals from 16 appearances, it wasn’t a spell that pulled up any trees at Stamford Bridge.

Felix is currently on loan at Barcelona.

Verdict: Miss

 

2020: Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)

Erling Haaland was born to score goals. The first time most people heard about him was the 2019/20 season where he netted eight goals in six matches in the Champions League group stages for RB Salzburg.

His performances had all the top clubs fighting over his signature; however, Dortmund would be his next destination.

For two and a half years in Germany he would terrorize Bundesliga defenders helping himself to 86 goals in 89 appearances.

Despite all these goals Dortmund still struggled to break Munich’s dominance and when he left the club in 2022, he had just one trophy under his belt, the DFB Pokal in 2021.

The summer of 2022 saw the Norwegian international swap Dortmund for Manchester City, where he hit the ground running.

In his first season at City, he was part of the side that picked up the Treble and he also broke the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season (36 goals).

Verdict: Hit

 
2021: Pedri Gonzalez (Barcelona)

Pedri has always thrived when the pressure is on him, at just 16 years old Barcelona splashed out £4.35million to secure the midfielder's signature.

Pedri made his debut for the Spanish side in September 2020 in a 4-0 home win against Villareal.

That season Pedri became the second youngest player to make 50 appearances for Barcelona at just 18 years and 164 days, only just behind Bojan Krkic who achieved this milestone at 18 years and three days.

During his time at Barcelona Pedri has picked up three trophies including a La Liga medal last season.

Pedri has been selected to represent Spain at four tournaments - Euro 2020, 2020 Olympics, World Cup 2022 and the Nations League 2023.

He made Euro 2020 his own as he was named in the team of the tournament and young player of the tournament, despite Spain losing in the semi-finals to eventual winners Italy on penalties.

Surprisingly Pedri was selected for the delayed Olympics in 2021 where Spain would reach the final only to lose to Brazil 2-1 in extra time. That season Pedri played a staggering 73 matches.

Verdict: Hit

 
2022: Gavi (Barcelona)

Gavi joined Barcelona in 2015 at an 11-year-old and is already another La Masia prospect who is showing his star quality in the first team.

The midfielder's breakthrough season was in the 2022/23 campaign which saw Barcelona crowned as La Liga winners.

Gavi’s first piece of silverware for Barcelona came in a 3-1 win against Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana. He was named as man of the match as he ran the game from midfield helping himself to two assists along the way.

Gavi has represented Spain at two international tournaments. The first was the 2022 World Cup where he became the third youngest player to ever score at the tournament, only behind Pele and Manuel Rosas.

Gavi tasted success with Spain in June 2023 as they were victorious on penalties against Croatia to win the Nations League. 
 
Verdict: Hit

 

2023: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid)

Jude Bellingham let the world know about his talent in the 2019/20 Championship season while playing for Birmingham City, who he had joined as a seven-year-old.

He made his debut for Birmingham in August 2019 in a 3-0 defeat away at Portsmouth in the EFL Cup first round and became the club’s youngest ever player at just 16 years and 38 days.

That season he made 44 appearances, helping himself to four goals along the way as Birmingham finished just above the relegation spots in 20th position.

Bellingham then packed his bags and joined Borussia Dortmund in July 2020 for an initial £25million, this transfer made him the most expensive 17-year-old around.

His time at Borussia Dortmund was exceptional. In his first season he would help Dortmund break their three-year trophy drought as they swept RB Leipzig aside comfortably winning 4-1 in the DFB Pokal final.

That summer Bellingham would be rewarded with a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the European Championships when he came on as a substitute against Croatia at Wembley. He became the youngest player ever to represent their country at the Euros.

After three strong seasons in Germany, Bellingham earned himself a transfer to Real Madrid for £90million.

Bellingham’s move to Madrid made him only the sixth English player to ever represent Los Blancos following on from Laurie Cunningham, Steve McManaman, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate.

This season he has already shown the Madrid fans what he is about with 13 goals in his first 13 matches for Madrid.

Verdict: Hit