Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi leads the 25-player shortlist for the 2026 European Golden Boy award announced Monday.

Cubarsi topped the latest European Golden Boy Top 100 ranking ahead of Barcelona teammate Lamine Yamal, Manchester City's Ayyoub Bouaddi, Paris Saint-Germain's Warren Zaire-Emery and Real Madrid's Yan Diomande.

Yamal, who won the Golden Boy award in 2024, is not among the finalists despite ranking second because competition rules prevent a player from winning the prize twice.

The final shortlist comprises the top 20 eligible players from the October ranking along with five wild-card selections: Brighton's Charalampos Kostoulas, Borussia Dortmund's Joane Gadou, Fiorentina's Franco Mastantuono, Roma's Rodrigo Mora and Barcelona's Xavi Espart.

Among the other leading names are Chelsea duo Jorrel Hato and Estevao, Real Madrid forward Endrick, Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly and Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl.

Karl, born in February 2008, is the youngest player on the shortlist.

The Premier League is the most represented competition with eight finalists, followed by La Liga with six, the Bundesliga with five and Serie A with three.

Barcelona have the most nominees of any club with three -- Cubarsi, Marc Bernal and wild-card selection Espart.

Players from 14 countries are represented on the shortlist, with Spain leading with four, followed by Germany, Brazil and France with three each.

An international jury of 50 journalists from across Europe will select the winner, who will be announced in November.

The Golden Boy award, established by the Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport in 2003, recognizes the best Under-21 footballer playing for a European club.

Paris Saint-Germain's Desire Doue won the award in 2025. (AA)

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