Real Madrid News
Real Madrid trio nominated for Golden Boy Award 2026
Real Madrid’s continued investment in young talent has been rewarded with recognition on one of European football’s most prestigious individual stages.
Three Real Madrid players have been named on the list of nominees for the 2026 Golden Boy award, handed out annually by Italian newspaper Tuttosport to the best young player in the European leagues.
The three nominees
As reported by Arancha Rodriguez, Yan Diomande, Endrick and Thiago Pitarch are the three players to have made the list.
Diomande is the newest addition, having recently completed his big-money move from RB Leipzig.
The Ivorian arrives on the back of a stunning debut Bundesliga campaign and a strong World Cup, and is expected to be a key attacking option for Jose Mourinho.
Endrick, meanwhile, returns from a successful loan spell at Lyon, where he impressed with eight goals and seven assists, though his immediate future remains uncertain amid interest from Roma and Aston Villa.
Pitarch, the young Spanish midfielder, completes the trio, having earned Mourinho’s trust to the point that the coach blocked his exit this summer despite interest from Fulham.
To qualify for the award, a player must have been born after January 1, 2006, and be registered with one of the 25 strongest European leagues.
Strong competition awaits
The three Real Madrid players face stiff competition, with the preliminary list running to 100 names before it is eventually trimmed down.
Among the standout candidates are Barcelona star Pau Cubarsi, along with the likes of Warren Zaire-Emery, Estevao, Lennart Karl, Ethan Nwaneri, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Borussia Dortmund’s newest addition, Kostas Karetsas.
Tuttosport will update the ranking every month before reducing it to a final shortlist of 20, with a panel of 50 journalists from leading European media outlets ultimately deciding the winner.
The most recent Golden Boy is PSG’s Desire Doue, who claimed the 2025 award comfortably ahead of Real Madrid’s Arda Guler in second place.
Los Blancos will be hoping one of their nominees can go one better this time around, further underlining the club’s status as a home for elite young talent.
According to TeamTalk, Real Madrid have joined the growing list of clubs monitoring Gabriel Rajkovic, a 15-year-old winger whose rapid development at Valerenga has already attracted attention from several of Europe’s leading sides.
The Merengues are known for keeping an eye on exciting young talent across the globe and it seems that Rajkovic’s exploits in Norway, with the first team, have alerted them.
Real Madrid keeping tabs on Rajkovic
As per the report, Real Madrid are among a host of clubs closely following the progress of the young forward.
Rajkovic holds both Norwegian and Serbian nationality and has emerged as one of the most promising young players in Norway.
His development has not gone unnoticed, with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund also understood to be monitoring him.
However, at this point, it is Arsenal and Chelsea, who are understood to be leading the charge for Rajkovic, having compiled a detailed dossier on the teenage prodigy after extensive scouting.
On top of that, the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have all watched Rajkovic in recent weeks.
Real Madrid could therefore face significant competition if they decide to step up their interest in a player who has already made an impression at senior level.
Making an impact at just 15
Rajkovic was handed a promotion to the Valerenga first-team squad in January earlier this year, when he was only 14 years old.
Following that, he signed a new contract with the club in March, when he turned 15, committing to the club until 2028.
Despite being only 15, the winger has already begun gaining experience in first-team football. In all, he has made 14 senior appearances for the Norwegian outfit, scoring three and assisting one goal.
Rajkovic has also represented Norway Under-16s, making two appearances and scoring once despite being younger than many of his teammates.
Those numbers become more impressive when his age and stage of development are taken into account.
Real Madrid have built a reputation for identifying young talent well before players reach their peak, and Rajkovic has now emerged as another name on their scouting radar.
But given the number of clubs in the race, signing the teenage wonderkid will not be easy.
