Cubarsi's overwhelming vote sweep reshapes Golden Boy race

While Pau Cubarsi celebrated an unprecedented personal triumph, his achievement also marked a rare milestone for defenders in the award’s history; as confirmed on Monday, the Barcelona defender secured the Golden Boy prize after 43 of the 50 journalists placed him first.

Voting dominance laid bare

The Blaugrana youngster amassed 475 points out of a possible 500, comfortably ahead of his nearest rival Yan Diomande of Real Madrid.

First‑place votes contributed 430 points – 86 percent of the maximum – while five journalists ranked Cubarsi second for an extra 35 points and the remaining two placed him third, adding five points each, meaning he appeared in the top three on every ballot.

Diomande, who joined Real Madrid during the summer transfer window, finished second, almost 250 points behind Cubarsi, and PSG midfielder Warren Zaïre‑Emery took third place.

The win makes Cubarsi only the second centre‑back to claim the Golden Boy, following Matthijs de Ligt’s 2018 triumph after breaking through at AFC Ajax, and adds his name to the Spanish roll‑call that includes Cesc Fabregas, Isco, Pedri, Gavi and Lamine Yamal.

Having also been named the Best Young Player of the FIFA World Cup, the 19‑year‑old La Masia graduate will collect the award at a ceremony in Turin on 14 December.