Ben Seghir and Bellingham Nominated for 2025 Golden Boy Award
Eliesse Ben Seghir and Jobe Bellingham have both made it onto the 25-player shortlist for the prestigious Golden Boy award for 2025. Each of these young talents made permanent moves to Bundesliga clubs during the summer transfer window.
Playing Time Challenges
Despite their nominations, both players are finding it difficult to secure playing time at their respective clubs. Ben Seghir has started only a few Bundesliga matches with Bayer Leverkusen. Similarly, Borussia Dortmund’s Bellingham has been limited to substitute roles in his last four games.
Recent Performance Highlights
Jobe Bellingham played a crucial role in helping Sunderland achieve Premier League promotion last season through the playoffs. Meanwhile, Eliesse Ben Seghir, previously a winger for Monaco, actively participated in Morocco’s successful campaign during World Cup qualification.
Selection Process for the Award
The shortlist was created by gathering insights from 50 journalists from across Europe, who identified 20 standout players. The Italian publication Tuttosport subsequently included five additional wild cards, which allowed Jobe Bellingham to be recognized in the list.
Previous Winners
Lamin Yamal secured the award in 2024, making him ineligible for this year’s competition due to the regulation preventing players from winning it more than once. Additionally, Jobe’s brother, Jude Bellingham, was the recipient of the award in 2023.
Over the years, other notable Bundesliga players who have won the Golden Boy include Mario Götze, Renato Sanches, and Erling Haaland. Götze remains the only German to have received this accolade, which was introduced by Tuttosport in 2003.
Complete Shortlist for the Golden Boy Award 2025
- Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona and Spain)
- Désiré Doué (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
- Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid and Spain)
- Kenan Yildiz (Juventus and Türkiye)
- Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal and England)
- Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
- Arda Güler (Real Madrid and Türkiye)
- Franco Mastantuono (Real Madrid and Argentina)
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal and England)
- Jorrel Hato (Chelsea and Netherlands)
- Geovany Quenda (Sporting Lisbon and Portugal)
- Estêvão (Chelsea and Brazil)
- Leny Yoro (Manchester United and France)
- Senny Mayulu (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
- Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City and England)
- Eliesse Ben Seghir (Bayer Leverkusen and Morocco)
- Victor Frøholdt (Porto and Denmark)
- Lucas Bergvall (Tottenham Hotspur and Sweden)
- Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur and England)
- Mamadou Sarr (Strasbourg and France)
- Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund and England)
- Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter Milan and Italy)
- Rodrigo Mora (Porto and Portugal)
- Giovanni Leoni (Liverpool and Italy)
- Aleksandar Stanković (Club Brugge and Serbia)
