'Bellingham did not deserve to win Golden Boy award' - Barcelona legend
Cameron Smith
- 21 Nov 2023 02:27 CST
- 3 min read
Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov doesn’t believe that Jude Bellingham deserved to win the 2023 Golden Boy award.
Bellingham, 20, was voted as the winner last week to follow up his triumph in the 2023 Kopa Trophy, with both awards handed out for the best U21 player in world football.
The Golden Boy award is handed out by Italian newspaper Tuttosport, while the Kopa Trophy is associated with the Ballon d’Or and is thus awarded by France Football.
Another big difference is the Kopa Trophy is awarded for a domestic season, while the Golden Boy is handed out for a calendar year.
Bellingham won both awards, but former Barcelona forward Stoichkov doesn’t think the new Real Madrid star was a deserving winner.
What did Stoichkov say?
When asked whether Bellingham should have won the Golden Boy, Stoichkov replied: “No,” as per Sport.
“I do not dispute the value of [Bellingham], he is one of the strongest talents in the world: he has a lot of class and a lot of brain,” the former Hungary star continued.
“For me he is a mix between Laudrup, Kaká and the first Pogba. The future is his. He will fight with Mbappé and Haaland for the next Ballon d'Or, but I would like to know what he won in 2023 between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. Nothing.
When Bellingham’s fantastic start to life at Real Madrid was raised as a counterpoint to Stoichkov, he remarked: “He did it for three months... And what success have all these goals brought to Real Madrid You know well what my friend Mourinho would say about 'titles.’
“Do we want to talk about how the last Bundesliga ended? Borussia Dortmund had a two-point lead over Bayern with 90 minutes to go in the final [game] of the championship. They were playing at home against Mainz and the Bavarians were playing away in Cologne.
“What happened five minutes from the end? Tuchel brought on [Jamal] Musiala, who in the last minutes scored to make it 3-2 for Bayern while Borussia drew 2-2 at home and said goodbye to the title due to goal difference.
“Since Gavi, the current winner, was not eligible by regulation, I would have given the prize to Musiala or [Alejandro] Balde.”
