Jude Bellingham is the only Englishman named on 10-man shortlist for the Kopa Trophy at the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards, with just ONE Premier League star a candidate to be named the world’s best youngster
Jude Bellingham is the only Englishman to feature in the ten-man shortlist for the Kopa Trophy at the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards, with only ONE Premier League star in contention to be named the world’s best youngster
- The Real Madrid star was the only England player to be shortlisted
- The award was won last season by Gavi, the star of Barcelona and Spain
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The nominations for the Kopa Trophy 2023, which is awarded to the best U21 player in the world, were announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The ten-man shortlist consisted of the best youngsters in the world, all of whom will compete for the title won by Barcelona star Gavi last year.
Only one England player – Jude Bellingham – made the shortlist, following his stellar season at Borussia Dortmund and his recent move to Real Madrid.
The full list included: Alejandro Balde, Rasmus Hojlund, Pedri, Eduardo Camavinga, Xavi Simons, Jamal Musiala, Antonio Silva, Gavi, Elye Wahi and Bellingham.
Man United’s Hojlund – who moved to Old Trafford for £72m this summer – is the only Premier League candidate on the list.
Jude Bellingham was the only Englishman to be shortlisted for the 2023 Kopa Trophy
Past winners Gavi (left) and Pedri (right) were also on the 10-man shortlist for the award
Previous winners Gavi and Pedri – who both played for Barcelona and Spain – were on the list.
The Spanish league proved dominant in terms of nominees – with five out of ten players in LaLiga.
Perhaps the most surprising addition was French striker Elye Wahi, who rejected a move to the Premier League this summer in favor of a move to Lens.
Dutch youngster Xavi Simons was also nominated for the award after a stellar campaign at PSV Eindhoven, before securing a move to RB Leipzig.
Elsewhere, the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or was revealed, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé leading the pack.
Both Bayern Munich’s Musiala and Real Madrid’s Bellingham made both the Kopa Trophy and Ballon d’Or shortlists.
It was striking that there was no room for five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who was just short of the shortlist for the first time since 2005.
The Portuguese star ended his time in European football in December and has spent the entire calendar year with Saudi side Al-Nassr.
Man United’s Rasmus Hojlund was the only Premier League star to be nominated for the award
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