Why Cristiano Ronaldo Never Won the Golden Boy Award

Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed an illustrious career, winning more than 30 major trophies, including five Champions League titles. Since his professional debut for Sporting Lisbon in 2002, the Portuguese forward has won five Ballon d’Or awards, which is only bettered by his great rival Lionel Messi, who has eight. He has also won other respected European awards, such as the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year three times and the European Golden Shoe on four occasions.

Despite all this, the 39-year-old has never won the Golden Boy Award. He was only eligible to win it for three years and narrowly missed out on it each time. Here is why he never got his hands on the trophy and who won it instead of one of the greatest football players of all time.

How is the Golden Boy Award Decided

Journalists cast their votes

The Golden Boy Award began in 2003 and is given to a player under the age of 21 who plays in the top flight of a European league. Italian sport newspaper, Tuttosport, established the award and, since 2003, sports journalists from 11 newspapers across Europe have participated in the voting to decide the winner. Notable outlets included in the voting process are L’Equipe, The Times, and Bild.

Each newspaper ranks five players under the age of 21 in order of who they believe has performed well throughout the last calendar year. The best player receives 10 points, while the second, third, fourth, and fifth-ranked youngsters receive seven, five, three and one, respectively. At the end of this voting process, the player with the most points is awarded the prize of Golden Boy.

Why Cristiano Ronaldo Missed Out on the Golden Boy Award

CR7 had three shots at the title

In the first three editions of the Golden Boy, Ronaldo was eligible to win it. At 18 years of age, the Portuguese teenager joined Manchester United for £12m after spending a couple of years at Sporting. In his first season at the club, he played 40 times in all competitions, scoring six times and registering eight assists. After his impressive year for the Red Devils, he narrowly missed out on the award to Rafael van der Vaart, who excelled at Ajax and was a couple of years older than Ronaldo.

The following year, Ronaldo missed out to his teammate Wayne Rooney. In the 2004/05 season, Rooney scored 17 goals in all competitions for United, establishing himself as one of the key players in the team. Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s impact at the club was increasing, but he only managed nine goals in 50 appearances.

In 2005, Lionel Messi won the award, which was the Portuguese forward’s last year of eligibility to win the coveted prize. While the Argentinian was the centre of attention at the start of his career, it took Ronaldo a little bit longer to establish himself as one of the elite players in Europe. The 39-year-old has spoken about the importance of Sir Alex Ferguson to his development, especially in his first few years at United. He said:

Golden Boy Winners to Win The Ballon d’Or

Messi in a league of his own

Jude Bellingham won last year’s Golden Bay Award, becoming the 21st recipient. In this time, though, only one player out of the 21 has gone on to win the Ballon d’Or. That is, of course, Messi, who won the Golden Boy in 2005 before winning his first Ballon d’Or four years later. Since then, he has dominated the award alongside Ronaldo, with the two players winning 13 out of the last 15 editions.

Whether Bellingham or the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland can break this record in the next few years remains to be seen. It doesn’t look like it will be changing in 2024, though, with Vinicius Junior and Rodri touted as the early favourites. The winner will be announced on Monday, October 28th.

Information gathered from Transfermarkt – Correct as of 22/08/24