Ajax defender Matthijs De Ligt is this year's Golden Boy.

The youngster won the award, which is given out by Italian paper Tuttosport.

The 19-year-old has been linked to big clubs in the past few months, such as Barcelona and Juventus.

He finished ahead of Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold in the voting.

"I'm really happy and also very proud to have won this trophy, particularly when I look at who has won it before me," De Ligt told Tuttosport.

"It's almost incredible to see my name added to a list which includes [Paul] Pogba, Mbappe, [Lionel] Messi and [Rafael] van der Vaart. Amazing.

"I know who won this prize almost by heart and to be honest, I appreciate it a lot. There are lots of very big names on the list, but if I were to name one, then Messi stands out for me.

"Everybody recognises what he has done for and in football. I really like him a lot as a footballer so I'm very proud to have won the same trophy which he lifted before me, 13 years ago, when I was only six."