
The Italian sports journal Tuttosport has presented the Golden Boy prize for the best young player annually since 2003. This year the vote is for players born in 2003 or later. Werkself player Florian Wirtz is listed seventh in the nominations. Last year, Bayer 04 player Piero Hincapie was on the list.
You can vote now for Wirtz for the Golden Boy Web, open exclusively to fans. Click HERE to vote.
Nine other Bundesliga players are on the list alongside Wirtz: Jamal Musiala, Mathys Tel (both Bayern Munich), Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Yossoufa Moukoko (both Borussia Dortmund), Tim Oermann (VfL Bochum 1848), Arne Engels (FC Augsburg), Luca Netz (Borussia Mönchengladbach) and Kevin Paredes (VfL Wolfsburg).
The Golden Boy award:
The top 100 young players is determined via an algorithm of Football Benchmark and Golden Boy. From the long list of 100 nominees, the top 20 plus five wild card players are named in October. 50 international journalists then vote for the Golden Boy from the shortlist.

Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
Show more
"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 0-1 loss at TSG Hoffenheim on Matchday 18 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
Show more
No points in the Kraichgau: the Werkself lost 1-0 away to top-six rivals TSG Hoffenheim on Bundesliga Matchday 18. Wouter Burger scored the only goal with a free kick in the ninth minute. In an uneventful contest, the Werkself tried hard to find an equaliser but were repeatedly thwarted.
Show more
The meeting between fifth and sixth on Saturday afternoon (17 January, 15:30 CET) is a hard one to predict. While the Werkself can take confidence from their historic record at TSG Hoffenheim, the hosts are currently enjoying their second-best Bundesliga campaign and have lost just one of their last 10 games. Another good omen for Bayer 04: Daniel Schlager also refereed Leverkusen's last victory in Sinsheim (4-1). The Matchday News.
Show more