Manchester City and Moroccan international Ayyoub Bouaddi has seen his starring performances over the last 12 months recognised by the Ballon d'Or awards.
Ayyoub Bouaddi: Manchester City's superstar wonderkid!
More Videos
The 18-year-old midfielder became Manchester City's second big-money signing of the Enzo Maresca era, joining the club from French side Lille in August off the back of an impressive FIFA World Cup campaign in North America.
Bouaddi played in five of Morocco’s six games at the tournament and helped his nation to the quarter-final stage, before City officials would sanction a €100 million package to secure his signature.
Despite being just a teenager, Ayyoub Bouaddi already has a remarkable 96 appearances at Lille under his belt between 2023/24 and last season across Ligue 1, the UEFA Europa League, and France’s domestic cups.
Now, having featured against Crystal Palace and Coventry City for Enzo Maresca during the opening weeks of the new season, Ayyoub Bouaddi's latest reward for his impressive rise comes via the Ballon d'Or awards.
Bouaddi nominated for Kopa Trophy
As confirmed by the Ballon d'Or on Tuesday afternoon, Manchester City's Ayyoub Bouaddi has been nominated for the Men’s Young Talent of the Year award.
There is stern competition for the leading youth prize however, with Bouaddi up against the likes of Juventus' Kerim Alajbegovic, FC Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid's Yan Diomande, and Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl.
Elsewhere on the nominations list if AFC Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi, Aston Villa's Johan Manzambi, Bayer Leverkusen's Ibrahim Maza, and Paris Saint-Germain's Warren Zaire-Emery.
What is the Kopa Trophy?
The Young Talent of the Year award or Kopa Trophy was first issued in 2018 and recognises the best performing player in the world below the age of 21, with the eventual winner chosen by a board of former Ballon d’Or winners.
The winners of all awards issued by the Ballon d'Or ceremony will be announced at an event in London on 26 October.
Manchester City are yet to see any of their Under-21 talents receive the Kopa Trophy in the last eight years, nor have they seen any player finish in the top-three ranking for the prize since its inception.
Academy graduate Jadon Sancho is the most successful City Football Academy product regarding the Young Talent of the Year award, securing a second-place finish in 2019 as a Borussia Dortmund player.