Topics: Joao Felix, Jadon Sancho, Erling Braut Håland, Matthijs de Ligt, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Salzburg, Dortmund, Golden Boy
Atletico's Portuguese starlet beat several other talented youngsters, including Sancho and Haaland.

It is official: Joao Felix is the winner of the 2019 Golden Boy award. The Portuguese starlet was one of many promising young players nominated for the award and has now beaten out several talents to scoop up this accolade.

The 20-year-old enjoyed an excellent campaign with Benfica last season. An academy graduate from the Eagles, he notched up 15 goals and seven assists for the Primeira Liga giants last term which caught the eyes of his current employers.

Los Rojiblancos were looking for the right man to replace Antoine Griezmann and so the Spanish giants decided to fork out a huge transfer fee to land the talented youngster, splashing a whopping $146M to bring him to the Spanish capital. So far he has three goals under his belt with Diego Simeone's side.

Not everyone agreed with the decision to hand the 2019 Golden Boy award to Felix, however. Some argue that the Tuttosport prize, which is awarded after voting by journalists, should have gone elsewhere due to the names Joao beat out.

In second place was Jadon Sancho, who some felt should have been the recipient, with Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz coming in third. Erling Braut Håland, who will likely be the frontrunner for next year's prize after his meteoric rise this season, came in at fourth.

Matthijs de Ligt, who won this accolade last year, completed the top five after sealing a mega-money move to Juventus. Barcelona's breakout teenager Ansu Fati came in sixth in the voting while Phil Foden was the highest-ranked Premier League youngster, coming in at seventh. AC Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma, Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo, and PSV's Donyell Maylen completed the top 10.