ATLETICO MADRID star Joao Felix has been named the winner of the 2019 Golden Boy award.
A prestigious honour, some of the games greatest stars have been honoured in previous years – as well as some big disappointments.
Felix made his name at Benfica for a summer move to AtleticoCredit: Getty – Contributor
A 20-man shortlist was named for the 2019 honour, including Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Jadon Sancho and Matteo Guendouzi.
But Felix won out thanks to his stunning breakout season with Benfica and mega move to Atletico.
After making his debut in August of last year, the attacker netted 20 goals in 43 appearances for the Lisbon club – adding a further 11 assists.
That earned him a £113million transfer to La Liga giants Atleti where he replaced Antoine Griezmann, so far notching three goals and an assist in Madrid.
Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt won last year’s award after Kylian Mbappe claimed the gong in 2017.
But 2016 winner Renato Sanches represents a warning sign to young players with bags of potential that still fail to make the elite grade.
Since the award’s inception in 2003, it has highlighted the rise of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling.
Fellow past winners Anderson, Alexandre Pato and Mario Balotelli have, contrastingly, endured mixed careers.
Now aged 31, 2008’s Golden Boy Anderson took part in four Premier League winning years at Manchester United as well as a Champions League triumph but is now without a club.
Last seen in Turkey with Adana Demirspor, his decline was far sharper than that of injury-hit forward Pato – now found in Brazil with Sao Paulo.
And Sanches was finally sold by Bayern Munich in the summer after a notoriously torrid loan spell at Swansea, with Lille paying £21million for the midfielder.
Joao Felix – Youngster dubbed the new Kaka makes big money move from Benfica to Atletico Madrid
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
