For a few years in a row, Willy Gnonto was nominated for the Golden Boy award, with a Leeds United academy graduate nominated this time around.
It’s an award which recognises the top 100 young players in Europe and has been organised by the Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport since 2003.
The award, ordinarily, will see 100 players under the age of 21 whittled down, and Gnonto was the last Leeds United player to make his way onto the longlist. Now, a 25-man shortlist has been revealed instead.
He did not win, but other academy graduates will hope to be involved in what is a prestigious award, where numerous winners have gone on to become world class footballers on the biggest stage.
Archie Gray lifts the Europa League trophy with Ben Davies.
Photo by Vasile Mihai-Antonio/Getty Images
Spurs’ Archie Gray nominated for 2025 Golden Boy award
Gnonto’s nominations came in 2022 and 2023, which were seasons where Barcelona midfielder Gavi and Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid also won.
Bellingham scored against Leeds in that 5-4 thriller against Birmingham City, but the England international won 2023’s award for his exploits in a Borussia Dortmund shirt.
The full list of winners can be seen below, with Lamine Yamal currently the holder of the title from 2024 — and he is in esteemed company, it is fair to say..
Year Winner Birth year
2003 Rafael van der Vaart 1983
2004 Wayne Rooney 1985
2005 Lionel Messi 1987
2006 Cesc Fàbregas 1987
2007 Sergio Agüero 1988
2008 Anderson 1988
2009 Alexandre Pato 1989
2010 Mario Balotelli 1990
2011 Mario Götze 1992
2012 Isco 1992
2013 Paul Pogba 1993
2014 Raheem Sterling 1994
2015 Anthony Martial 1995
2016 Renato Sanches 1997
2017 Kylian Mbappé 1998
2018 Matthijs de Ligt 1999
2019 João Félix 1999
2020 Erling Haaland 2000
2021 Pedri 2002
2022 Gavi 2004
2023 Jude Bellingham 2003
2024 Lamine Yamal 2007
Golden Boy award winners 2003-2024
Fabrizio Romano has since revealed the full list for the 2025 title, which includes Spurs’ Archie Gray, who spent 10 years with Leeds from the age of eight.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
🚨 OFFICIAL: Golden Boy 2025 finalists as 25-men shortlist has been unveiled ⭐️
Désiré Doué 🇫🇷
Leny Yoro 🇫🇷
Senny Mayulu 🇫🇷
Warren Zaire-Emery 🇫🇷
Eliesse Ben Seghir 🇫🇷
Mamadou Sarr 🇫🇷
Ethan Nwaneri 🏴
Nico O’Reilly 🏴
Archie Gray 🏴
Jobe Bellingham 🏴
Pau Cubarsí 🇪🇸
Dean Huijsen… pic.twitter.com/8AYkVbVqqz
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 15, 2025
View Tweet
He is competing with the likes of Dortmund’s Jobe Bellingham, Spurs teammate Lucas Bergvall, and Estevao Willian of Chelsea.
Archie Gray, when he played for Leeds United.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Archie Gray credits Leeds United for his Spurs versatility
Spurs’ Archie Gray claims Leeds is his home, despite now playing for the Europa League winners for over a year now. Gray also had the opportunity to say farewell properly to Leeds recently.
Following that win over Man United, Gray has credited Leeds for his versatility. He said: “I’ve grown a lot and I’ve enjoyed it a lot.
“Wherever I’m put on the pitch I’ll try to do the same job, just give 100%, and that’s a thing Leeds do really well with all their young players.
“They always put them in every position on the pitch, so I think that provided me with a good base for playing in these different positions.
“So, I’m not going out there never playing in them.”