20-year-old midfielder Jude Bellingham is the only English player to make the Ballon d’Or Kopa Trophy shortlist.
The Kopa Trophy, inaugurated in 2018 with Kylian Mbappe as the initial winner, is given to the best player under the age of 21 for amazing performances with club and country.
Bellingham is making another appearance on the list and is the favourite to win this year’s award after losing out to Barcelona starlet Gavi, who is also on the 2023 Kopa Trophy nominees list.
Bellingham has had a great start to life in Real Madrid after his €100 million move from Borussia Dortmund. However, it is his exploits with the German Bundesliga side and his performances for England in the past year that earned him a spot on the 2023 nominees list.
He will be competing for the award alongside Alejandro Balde (Barcelona), Pedri (Barcelona), Gavi (Barcelona), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Xavi Simons (PSG/RB Leipzig), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Elye Wahi (RC Lens) and Rasmus Højlund of Manchester United, who is the only Premier League representative on the list.
Højlund will be receiving the award as a Premier League player if he wins but his performances for Atalanta in the Italian Serie A earned him his spot on the 10-man shortlist.
The 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist, however, is dominated by Premier League players, most of whom play for treble winners Manchester City. The only other non-Man City players on the list are Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) and Andre Onana (Manchester United).
Onana made it on the back of a brilliant season with Inter Milan in the Serie A. Like his Man United teammate Højlund, he will be receiving the award as a Premier League player should he win it.
Harry Kane is also in the running for his incredible season with Tottenham Hotspur but will be receiving the award, should he win it, as a German Bundesliga player.
City’s dominance of the 30-man shortlist is quite telling of the gulf in quality between other leagues and the Premier League. Højlund’s inclusion in the Kopa Trophy nominees’ list also does not do much to bridge that gap as the player would have made the list if he stayed in Italy.
Pundits, however, believe a number of youngsters who play in the English top flight could have made the 10-man shortlist. Whatever the case, they would have had to compete with Jude Bellingham, England’s brightest talent who, unfortunately, does not ply his trade for any clubs in his country.
