Real Madrid have three players among the 100 nominees for the 2026 Golden Boy award, with Yan Diomande, Endrick and Thiago Pitarch included in the initial list for the prestigious prize.
The annual award is organised by Italian newspaper Tuttosport and recognises the best young player competing in Europe’s domestic leagues. Real Madrid highlighted the inclusion of the three players on their official website.
To qualify for the 2026 award, players must have been born after 1 January 2006 and be registered with a club in one of Europe’s 25 leading leagues.
The initial field includes several other prominent young players. Among them are Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery, Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, Chelsea forward Estevao, Bayern Munich midfielder Lennart Karl, Arsenal midfielder Ethan Nwaneri and Franco Mastantuono.
Tuttosport will update the rankings every month before reducing the 100-player list to 20 finalists. Those players will then compete for the final award.
The winner will be selected by a panel of 50 journalists representing leading European media organisations.
The latest recipient of the Golden Boy award is France and Paris Saint-Germain forward Desire Doue, who won the 2025 prize by a significant margin. Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler finished second in that vote.
The recognition of Diomande, Endrick and Thiago Pitarch gives Real Madrid three representatives at the opening stage of the 2026 competition. However, the final contenders will not be known until the longlist is reduced to 20 players.
The Golden Boy award is presented annually to a young player performing in one of Europe’s major leagues. Eligibility for the 2026 edition is determined by a player’s date of birth and registration status, rather than by club reputation or previous success.
Real Madrid’s three nominees therefore join a group that includes players from a number of leading European clubs. The monthly updates by Tuttosport will provide the next stages in the process, with the eventual winner decided by the 50-member media panel.
Diomande is the Ivorian representative among the Real Madrid nominees, while Endrick is from Brazil and Thiago Pitarch is Spanish. Their inclusion means the Spanish club is represented alongside a number of the most prominent emerging players in European football.
The previous edition ended with Doue taking the prize ahead of Guler, who was Real Madrid’s highest-placed player in the 2025 voting.
