Francesco Pio Esposito celebrates his first senior goal for Italy against Estonia (@azzurri)
Inter forward Francesco Pio Esposito and injured Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni are the two Italian players featured in the 2025 Golden Boy award shortlist, but both are listed as wildcard entries rather than direct qualifiers.
Tuttosport announced the 25-player shortlist on Wednesday. The Golden Boy award is given annually to the top young talent under 21 playing in Europe.
Out of the 25 listed, 20 players qualified automatically based on their Football Benchmark Index rankings, while five additional wildcard selections complete the list.
This year’s wildcard selections include Esposito and Leoni, alongside Jobe Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund, Rodrigo Mora from Porto, and Aleksandar Stankovic from Club Brugge.
Reasons for Esposito and Leoni being wildcard selections for the 2025 Golden Boy Award
Esposito spent last season on loan at Spezia in Serie B but has returned to Inter this summer with a strong performance record, securing his position in Cristian Chivu’s starting lineup and earning both his first caps and goal for the Italian national team by mid-October.
Leoni, on the other hand, made a significant impact during the latter half of the 2024-25 season with Parma, leading to a €35 million transfer to Premier League champions Liverpool. Although he showed promise in his debut, he faced a potentially season-ending cruciate ligament injury just before full-time.
Due to Esposito’s prior season in Serie B and Leoni’s unfortunate injury affecting his future appearances, both players are recognized as wildcard picks in the 2025 Golden Boy shortlist.