With 2015 Golden Boy award winner Anthony Martial having announced his departure from Manchester United, KickOff's Lukhanyo Mtuta looks at five stars who never lived up to the hype after winning the prestigious prize.
The Golden Boy award was first introduced by Italian newspaper Tuttosport back in 2003, with the accolade given to the best player under the age of 21 in Europe. Retired Dutch footballer Rafael van de Vaart was the first recipient of the prize, and there have been 21 other youngsters who have claimed it since, with no player ever winning it more than once.
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Some feel being named the Golden Boy serves as an indicator of a player's talent level and the things they may go on to achieve in their careers. This argument is enforced by the fact that greats such as Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, and Sergio Aguero have all got their hands on the prize, and the trio's legacy as footballers is unquestioned.
However, this is not always the case, with some past winners having fallen short of reaching the heights expected of them, including Martial.
Anthony Martial - 2015 winner
On Monday, the French star announced via Instagram that he will leave Old Trafford when his contract expires in June. The attacker joined the club in September 2015 from AS Monaco in a deal worth €60 million (R1.1 billion). In December that year, he was awarded the coveted Golden Boy trophy, beating the likes of Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot, and Luke Shaw. However, the now-28-year-old did not end up becoming a world-class superstar as many had anticipated, partly due to the fact that his career in Manchester was stifled by injuries. Although his 90 goals in 317 matches for United makes for decent reading, Martial has missed at least 94 matches through injuries alone, according to Transfermarkt. This has led to long absences from the France national team as well, which saw him miss out on the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2020 UEFA European Championship.
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Mario Balotelli - 2010 winner
The Italian has always been a player who divides opinion, highlighted by the fact that he has never made more than 100 appearances for any of the 10 clubs he has represented so far at senior professional level. Expectations for him to succeed were quite lofty after he won the 2010 Golden Boy trophy, but fallouts and disciplinary issues at various teams have been a common trend in his career. Now aged 33, the striker plays for mid-table Turkish Super Lig side Adana Demirspor.
Renato Sanches - 2016 winner
The Portugal international shot to fame at Euro 2016, when he played a key role in his country's triumph at the tournament. He was named the best young player during that edition as an 18-year-old. His sensational display saw him become the 2016 Golden Boy, beating Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio, and Ousmane Dembele to the prize. Bayern Munich then came calling, but the fairy tale was short-lived as he lasted just 52 matches in Bavaria. Spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Swansea City were also underwhelming, which has ultimately seen Sanches failing to settle at one club.
Anderson - 2008 winner
In 2019, Anderson announced his retirement from professional football at the age of just 31. The decision came after several years of the player being on a downward spiral, with some of his coaches having described him as a lazy footballer who couldn't stay fit due to an apparent lack of professionalism. Even spells back in Brazil with Internacional and Cortiba couldn't bring him back to his once-massive hype. To date, Anderson is viewed as one of those players who had the ability to achieve great things, but couldn't do so because he did not apply himself well enough.
Alexandre Pato - 2009 winner
Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard, Thomas Muller, and Toni Kroos are just some of nominees Pato beat to the 2008 Golden Boy trophy. However, it is irrefutable that the ex-Brazil striker has not had a career that's remotely close to the aforementioned 2009 contenders. Apart from his breakout spell at AC Milan, Pato never found his feet in Europe, and has since spent the bulk of his career back in his native country, while he also had a forgettable stint at Chelsea, for whom he made just two appearances. At some point, he also played in China, a mark of how his career deteriorated after winning the Golden Boy gong.
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