Izuchukwu Okosi
Real Madrid and England superstar Jude Bellingham, 20, has won the 2023 Golden Boy award for the best player in Europe aged under 21.
Bellingham came first in the Golden Boy voting with 485 votes, taking the top spot with 97 percent of the total votes cast by journalists nominated for the award.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe midfielder has already matched his goals record from all last season at Borussia Dortmund – and we are only just into December. He has scored in all but five games for Madrid this season. Former Birmingham starlet Bellingham became the first English player in history to score ten Champions League goals before turning 21.
Bellingham also won the version of the award hosted by an Italian newspaper, Tuttosport, on 17 November this year beating the likes of Nigeria-born Germany international Jamal Musiala, and Alajandro Balde.
Massimo Franchi, creator of the Golden Boy, took to the stage to present the Golden Boy award to Jude Bellingham, who did not hide his joy:
“Thank you very much for the Golden Boy. I’m very happy, very happy to be able to take this award,” said the Englishman.
“I’ve been very lucky to be able to play with some great players. It’s great to hear the world’s great reactions to me. To be the best player in the world you don’t just have to play well and score goals, you have to help the team as well.
“Thank you very much. I don’t think I’m the best. It’s an honor to be talked about for the Ballon d’Or. I’m in the best team in the world. We play to win every game. It’s a pleasure to play for Real Madrid.
“The pressure is strong both in the national team and in the team, all the players I play with are top players and I have a very big list of idols. A big influence for me was Wayne Rooney.”
The former Borussia Dortmund man won two replicas of the trophy: the usual one and the one awarded by the newspaper’s website readers, which received three million votes.
“I’m very lucky to play football. If not, I would be studying at university now. I thank my family for instilling this sport in me since I was a child. Without football, I wouldn’t be the same person,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Manchester City goalscorer Erling Haaland beat Lionel Messi to claim the Golden Player Man award for his stunning exploits that helped the club clinch the Treble last season.
Haaland’s sensational debut season in Manchester saw him bag 52 goals in 53 games for Pep Guardiola’s side including scoring the most goals in a single Premier League campaign.
The evening also celebrated the women’s game with Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati being recognised as the best women’s player.
The 25-year-old won the Champions League with the Catalan club before going on to lift the Women’s World Cup trophy with Spain.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
