Riqui Puig nominated for Golden Boy award

Two players from Barça B are among the 100 players nominated for the prestigious Golden Boy award for 2019.

Italian newspaper Tuttosport has named not only the highly promising 21-year-olf midfielder Riqui Puig, but also Montenegrin goalkeeper Lazar Carevic among the 100 candidates for its prize

First team debut

Puig, from Matadepera near Barcelona, played his first senior game this season wearing 28 on his back against Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey at Camp Nou. Ernesto Valverde also used him in the Catalan Super Cup game with Girona and in Liga fixtures against Huesca, Getafe and Celta Vigo.

He raised plenty of eyebrows in those games, as he has been all season at the Mini Estadi playing for the reserve team.

Voters from the European press will be deciding who gets to succeed last year’s winner, Matthijs de Ligt of Ajax, and the result will be announced in September.

Previous winners of the accolade include Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fàbregas, Mario Balotelli, Paul Pogba and our own Lionel Messi back in 2005.