Bayern Munich and Portugalas wonderboy Renato Sanches has been named 2016as European Golden Boy, beating Manchester Unitedas golden boy Marcus Rashford.
The annual award which is handed out to Europeas most impressive footballer under the age of 21 is run by an Italian newspaper, Tuttosoprt. The 19 year old was presented with the trophy last night in an extravagant ceremony in Monte Carlo and beat both Marcus Rashford and Bayern Munich team-mate Kingsley Coman who placed second and third respectively.ASanches who made headlines during Portugal’s Euro winning run and also when he joined Bayern Munich in the summer, beat off nearly 40 players to get his hands on the trophy. Which is basically a Ballon d’or for the under 21s.
Other memorable winners are Paul Pogba, Wayne Rooney, Mario Balotelli, Rafael van der Vaart and his royal highness himself, Lionel Messi. Renato Sanches become only the first player to win the golden boy award after another famous Portuguese finished runner up to a then former teammate, Wayne Rooney. ‘Iam beaming, this award has a global significance,’ Sanches said in an interview A’But I am down to earth, I have much to learn mainly from my fantastic team-mates such as Vidal, Xabi, Tiago and Kimmich. I dedicate the Golden Boy to my family. The Champions League? Bayern will win, there is no debate: we are the strongest team on the planet.
Unitedas golden boy Marcus Rashford and the French and Bayern speedster Kingsley Coman stood second and third respectively. Meanwhile AC Milanas 16 year old super keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is the only Italian player to make it into the top 10 this year. From the Premier League, Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi and Tottenhamas Dele Ali also made the shortlist which included Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Marko Grujic, Kelechi Iheanacho, Leroy Sane and Demarai Gray.
The award is complied with votes coming in from nearly 30 journalists who work at some of Europeas top newspapers and last year, gave the award to Anthony Martial.
