Messi won: 3 Ukrainians compete for the prestigious football award. Their names will surprise you

Three Ukrainians have been nominated for the prestigious Golden Boy 2023 award, which is presented by the Italian publication Tuttosport to the best European footballer under the age of 21. The list also includes one of the Premier League's legionnaires.

We are talking about Vorskla goalkeeper Pavlo Isenko, his Zorya teammate Oleksandr Saputin, Dynamo Kyiv defender Maksym Dyachuk, and Shakhtar Donetsk's Venezuelan striker Kevin Kelsey. This is stated on the official website of Tuttosport, which has named 100 candidates for the award.

Saputin is the highest on the list of candidates for the award, ranked 33rd with a rating of 71.9. Isenko is next in 43rd place with a rating of 69.6. Dyachuk was 54th with a rating of 67.2. Kelsey rounded out the Ukrainian Premier League's representation at 87th position (63.1).

Interestingly, Isenko and Saputin made up exactly half of the goalkeepers on the list. Mykhailo Mudryk could have been eligible for the award, but he turned 22 on 5 January and was excluded from the list of candidates.

The winner of the Golden Boy 2023 will be determined by journalists from leading European sports publications. Last year, they gave the award to Barcelona midfielder Gavi. The award has previously been won by such stars as Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Holland and others.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Ilya Zabarnyi, the star of the Ukrainian youth football team, explained why he refused to play at the 2023 European Championships.

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