According to Sport, in the latest monthly update of the Golden Boy Top 100 potential star list, Barcelona's young player Xavi Espart's ranking surged, climbing to 50th place, becoming the most improved player on this list. His teammate Pau Cubarsi continues to hold the top spot, leading many other excellent young players who have achieved recognition at a young age.

The Golden Boy award competition is heating up, with two Barcelona players showing strong upward momentum. The European Golden Boy Top 100 potential star list, compiled by the professional website Transfermarkt for Tuttosport, announced its third monthly update. The most significant change is the surge in the ranking of La Masia product Xavi Espartó, who, under Hansi Flick, has realized his potential for a first-team breakthrough.

This list is currently still led by a young star – Pau Cubarsi, also from Barcelona, who has already established himself in world football. Xavi Espart has strongly entered the 50th position of this hundred-player shortlist. This ranking will be gradually updated until the final winner is decided. With this leap, this versatile Barcelona player has become the player with the greatest improvement in ranking in this update. His impressive start to the season has not gone unnoticed and allows him to continue climbing in the upcoming competition. The next major milestone will arrive in October, when the list will be narrowed down to the top 20 candidates.

The Premier League remains the league with the most players on this top 100 list. Among these hundred young talents, as many as 31 play in England, 15 of whom joined the league during this summer transfer window. The Bundesliga ranks second with 19 representatives, 8 of whom were signed in the last transfer window. La Liga has 9 players on the list.

When analyzed by club, the situation is slightly different, with Barcelona rising in the rankings, with a total of 4 players making it into the top 100: Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal, Marc Bernal, and Xavi Espart. Yamal's situation is special; he has previously won the award and cannot be re-nominated this year. Even so, all his performances are still at a superstar level. The one with a definite chance to win this award is his teammate Pau Cubarsi, who has had an extraordinary year at both club and national team levels, and was even named the best young player at the 2024 Copa América, which Spain won. Clearly, Cubarsi, with his impressive start to the season, is one of the biggest favorites and is currently leading the list.

Behind him, Marc Bernal and Xavi Espartó are also chasing strongly, both establishing themselves in Barcelona's first team. If young Marc is establishing himself with more playing time, Espart's breakthrough has been impressive. Xavi won Hansi Flick's trust in the preseason, and to date, he has surpassed João Cancelo and the out-of-form Alejandro Balde to become the preferred left-back. In addition, his versatility also makes him an option in midfield.

Barcelona is also one of the clubs with the most players on the list. Only Borussia Dortmund, with 5 players, has more than Barcelona, which has 4. Chelsea, Porto, and Newcastle United also each have 4 young players on the shortlist. Real Madrid has two representatives, Jhon Durán and Endrick, Real Sociedad has Jon Martín, and Racing Santander has the highly sought-after Jorge Salinas.

By nationality, France leads with 13 representatives, followed by England (10), Germany (9), and Spain (8). The Netherlands contributed 7 players, Italy 6, and Portugal and Brazil each have 5.

In the Golden Boy competition, Pau Cubarsi remains one of the favorites. The world champion is in a favorable position, with several talented players close behind him. However, as mentioned earlier, his teammate Lamine Yamal, currently ranked second, is not eligible for this award. Aurélien Tchouaméni ranks third; he was one of the major signings in the summer transfer market. Manchester City paid Lille 95 million euros to sign him. Jhon Durán ranks fifth, having transferred from Aston Villa to Real Madrid for a transfer fee of 75 million euros. Following closely is Warren Zaïre-Emery, ranked fourth, another product of the Paris Saint-Germain academy. Tchouaméni and Durán swapped positions from the previous update. Undoubtedly, the Real Madrid player was affected by a difficult start to the season. Meanwhile, Cubarsi continues to maintain his leading position on this list, which is gradually taking shape.

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