It is in Genoa, in the heart of the brand new Badia di Sant'Andrea, Genoa's training center, that Tuttosport unveiled this Wednesday the official list of the 25 finalists for Golden Boy 2025. The event, presented by Patrick Vieira, brought together leaders, journalists and observers of European football who came to witness the revelation of the young prodigies who will compete to succeed Lamine Yamal. In this setting mixing Italian tradition and modernity, the media day highlighted an exceptional generation, dominated by the continent's great training clubs. Paris Saint-Germain, with its now well-established youth policy, particularly shone with three representatives in this prestigious shortlist: Désiré Doué, Warren Zaire-Emery and Senny Mayulu.
To decide between these talents, Tuttosport is based on the rigorous methodology of Golden Boy Indexdeveloped by Football Benchmark. This statistical index evaluates each player according to three pillars: sporting performance, playing time and club strength, to which is added a bonus for matches played in European competitions and for the national team. Ratings are standardized out of 100, providing an objective reading of the performance and impact of young players throughout the season. Once the list is reduced to 25, it is then the votes of journalists from European daily newspapers which determine the winner. And this year, all indicators point towards an edition in the colors of Paris Saint-Germain, as the players of the Ile-de-France club dominate the debates in the statistics as well as on the pitch.
Turin will be Red and Blue!
Indeed, PSG could experience a historic evening in Turin, at the beginning of December, during the official Golden Boy 2025 ceremony. The Parisian club is represented by three finalists, a record in the recent history of the trophy. Désiré Doué, arrived in the summer of 2024 and ranked second in the Golden Boy Index behind Lamine Yamal (inevitably ineligible because he has already won), comes forward as the big favorite to succeed the Barcelona prodigy. Warren Zaire-Emery, captain of the Bleuets, French international for the A and now rotation player for PSG, is also among the names cited by observers, while Senny Mayulu, scorer in the Champions League final against Inter, embodies the following promise of a training center that has once again become a model. Three faces, three different trajectories, but the same school of play, marked by the confidence given to youth, patiently installed by Luis Enrique, craftsman of a perfect balance between world stars and in-house talents.
But Parisian domination could well extend beyond the field. In other categories, the capital club is omnipresent. Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is the favorite for the trophy for best president, hailed for the stability and the strategy that he has been able to establish for more than a decade. Luis Campos, discreet architect of the project, is nominated for the prize for best sports director/manager. And how can we not mention Luis Enrique, mastermind of a historic season concluded with a resounding quadruple: Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Champions Trophy and Champions League. After having already marked the evening of the 2025 Ballon d'Or in September, where Ousmane Dembélé lit up the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris Saint-Germain could well repeat the feat in December in Turin. This time, it's an entire institution, from the president to the young shoots, which is preparing to experience what could remain as the biggest raid in the history of the Golden Boy.
