Cubarsí wins 2026 Golden Boy award

Barcelona and Spain defender Pau Cubarsí in September 2025. File photograph. Biso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Cropped photograph.

Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsí has won the 2026 Golden Boy award, becoming only the second defender to receive the prize for the best under-21 footballer playing in Europe.

Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport announced the 19-year-old’s selection on Monday, 9 November, at the Mapei Football Center in Sassuolo, Italy. Matthijs de Ligt, who won in 2018 while playing for Ajax, was the only previous defensive winner since the award began in 2003.

The announcement follows a year in which Cubarsí helped Barcelona win La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. He also played in Spain’s World Cup-winning team and received the tournament’s young player award, according to Barcelona’s account of his achievements.

“I'm very proud to receive the award and I thank all the people that voted for me,” Cubarsí said in a video broadcast by Tuttosport, Reuters reported.

Speaking separately to Reuters, he said defenders often received less attention than attacking players, whose goals and assists made their contributions more visible.

Cubarsí succeeds Paris Saint-Germain forward Désiré Doué, the 2025 winner. His Barcelona teammate Lamine Yamal received the award in 2024.

He becomes the fifth player to win the prize while representing Barcelona, following Lionel Messi in 2005, Pedri in 2021, Gavi in 2022 and Yamal in 2024.

Former Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fàbregas also appears among the past winners, although he received the 2006 award as an Arsenal player. Barcelona’s previous review of its connections to the competition makes that distinction.

Cubarsí emerged from a shortlist of 25 players. Under Tuttosport’s published selection procedure, the finalists comprised the leading 20 players in its ranking, developed with Transfermarkt, alongside five additional candidates chosen by the organisers.

A jury of 50 journalists representing 27 European countries determined the winner. Each juror selected five finalists in order of preference, awarding them 10, seven, five, three and one point respectively.

The competition’s rules prevented Yamal from contesting the main award again because he had already won it, even though he remained young enough to feature in the wider rankings.

Cubarsí will receive his trophy at the awards ceremony in Turin on 14 December. Barcelona also confirmed that its women’s B-team player Giulia Galli would receive the Best Italian Golden Girl award, while club president Joan Laporta would receive the Best President prize.