We are rapidly approaching the time for the awards for the 25/26 season to be given out. The Ballon d'Or ceremony is just weeks away, with many at Real Madrid hoping Kylian Mbappe will bring the award back to the Bernabeu.
The other major award being given out is the 2026 Golden Boy award for the best under-21 player in Europe, and even after a disappointing season, Real Madrid will be sending three players to the ceremony with hopes of winning.
As announced on Real Madrid's official website, Real Madrid has two (technically three) players among the nominees for the Tuttosports 2026 Golden Boy Award with Yan Diomande and Endrick among the final 25 contenders. Franco Mastantuono is among the 'wild card' nominees and is still a Real Madrid player, just on loan at Fiorentina.
Real Madrid already has two previous Golden Boy winners in the squad, with Kylian Mbappe taking home the award in 2017 and Jude Bellingham in 2023. Real Madrid will be hoping one of their nominees can bring the award back home, with all having their own case for the award.
Is there any chance the Golden Boy award comes home to the Bernabeu?
Yan Diomande had a standout season for RB Leipzig last season, which ultimately led Real Madrid to pay €125 million to sign the player this summer. The Ivorian grabbed 13 goals and 10 assists in 36 matches last season, and showed incredible displays of attacking talent with his pace and dribbling skills.
He's grabbed just one assist through his first eight games for Real Madrid, but thankfully for Diomande, this season doesn't count towards the award, so while it's still a long shot, he could be on pace to finish high in the voting.
Endrick is also among the nominees, after his best campaign so far in Europe, however, it came away from the Bernabeu. The Brazilian spent the last six months of last season on loan at Lyon, where he found a new lease on life, grabbing eight goals and eight assists in 21 appearances for the French team.
He has since returned to Real Madrid and hasn't found the same success he found at Lyon, playing just four minutes so far this season for Los Blancos. However, again, thankfully for the Brazilian, this award is based on last season, so he still has a chance to bring home some votes after a strong loan spell to close out last season.
And finally, we have Franco Mastantuono, which is a bit of an interesting one. The Argentine is spending this season on loan at Fiorentina and has had a strong start to the season, grabbing three goals in seven games, with those three goals coming in the shape of a hat-trick against Venezia.
However, with this award being based on last season, his 25/26 season was frankly awful. He grabbed just three goals and one assist in 35 matches for Real Madrid, a campaign nowhere close to the level of a Golden Boy winner. It makes sense why he is among the 'wild card' nominees, with his chances of bringing home the award slim to none.
Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi is the strong favorite to win the award, and after the season the defender had last year, it's hard to argue against him being the rightful winner. There's always hope that Diomande could somehow come out on top, but it looks like the award will be heading to the Camp Nou later this month.
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