Inter’s Esposito and Liverpool’s Leoni are wildcard picks for Golden Boy award

Inter striker Francesco Pio Esposito and injured Liverpool defender are the two Italy representatives on the shortlist for the 2025 Golden Boy award, but both have been included as wildcard picks rather than qualifying directly. 

Tuttosport announced the 25-player shortlist for the 2025 Golden Boy award on Wednesday. The Golden Boy is an annual prize handed out to the best young talent under the age of 21, currently playing in Europe. 

Of the 25 players included in the shortlist, 20 have ‘qualified’ automatically via their ranking on the Football Benchmark Index. Another five ‘wildcard’ picks have been included to complete the 25-player shortlist. 

This year’s wildcat selection includes two young Italy talents in Esposito and Leoni, along with Jobe Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund, Rodrigo Mora of Porto and Aleksandar Stankovic of Club Brugge. 

Esposito had been playing in Serie B on loan with Spezia last season, but has made a strong impression since returning to Inter over the summer, establishing himself as a key member of Cristian Chivu’s first team plans, and also earning his first caps and goal for the Italy national team, all by mid-October. 

Leoni, meanwhile, had impressed so much with his performances for Parma in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign that he earned a €35m move to Premier League champions Liverpool over the summer. The Italy teenager impressed on his debut, but suffered a potentially season-ending cruciate ligament injury a few moments before full-time. 

Given Esposito’s spell in Serie B last season, and Leoni’s lack of future game time, they have been included as wildcard picks on the 2025 Golden Boy shortlist.