As a result of left-back Alejandro Balde’s inclusion on the list of the final 25 nominees for the Golden Boy Award, Barcelona will attempt to retain their title as champions of the Golden Boy Award for another season.

In addition to being one of the nominees, Lamine Yamal is also one of the five wildcard picks that were selected by the Tuttosport Editorial Team.

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Arda Guler of Real Madrid, Bilal el Khannouss of Genk, Martin Batuina of Dinamo Zagreb, and Joao Neves of Benfica are some of the other players who are contending for a spot as one of the wildcard picks.

When Balde took over the starting left-back position previously held by Jordi Alba, he was mentored throughout the season by Xavi, who helped him have an excellent breakthrough year.

In the end, he finished the 2022–2023 La Liga season having scored one goal and providing six assists for others.

As a finalist for this award, Balde will be competing against the likes of Jude Bellingham, Xavi Simons, Jamal Musiala, and Florian Wirtz, all of whom are highly regarded in their respective fields.

Bellingham, who plays for Real Madrid, is currently the favorite to win the prize and will most likely move up to the podium to replace Gavi, who was the winner of the honor the previous year.

When it comes to Yamal’s standing, the person who came up with the idea for the prize, Massimo Franchi, singled out the young man, who is just 16 years old, saying:

“I cannot believe he is only 16 years old; he was born in 2007!” He is a first-team starter for Barcelona and even competes for the Spanish national team. He is a member of both teams. He has shattered the records formerly held by Pedri, Gavi, and Ansu.