The award was initiated back in 2003 by Tuttosport news paper and it is awarded by sports journalist to a young football player playing for a European nation’s top league and is below the age of 21.
The award is now been voted by the following newspapers: A Bola (Portugal), Bild (Germany), Blick (Switzerland), l’Equipe (France), France Football (France), Marca (Spain), Mundo Deportivo (Spain), Ta Nea (Greece), Sport Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Netherlands), The Times (United Kingdom) and of course Tuttosport (Italy). Each selected journalist will name five players from a shortlist and give 10 points to the perceived best, 7 to the second, 5 to the third, 3 to the fourth and 1 to the fifth.
The inaugural award was won by Rafael Van der Vart and subsequently top players like Rooney, Messi, Fabregas have won it too. The previous year’s award was clinched by Renato Sanches for his impressive display for Benfica and Bayern Munich in 2016.
