Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov has slammed Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham being awarded the Golden Boy for 2023.
Bellingham was named the U21 Player of the Year last week.
But Stoichkov said: "I don't dispute Bellingham's value, he is one of the strongest talents in the world: he has a lot of class and a lot of brains. For me he is a mix between (Michael) Laudrup, Kaká and the first (Paul) Pogba. The future is his. He will fight with (Kylian) Mbappé and (Erling) Haaland for the next Ballon d'Or, but I would like to know what he's won in 2023 between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid?
"Nothing...
"What success have all these goals brought to Real Madrid? You know well what my friend (Jose) Mourinho would say about 'titles'... Shall we talk then about how the last Bundesliga ended? Borussia Dortmund had a two-point lead over Bayern with 90 minutes left in the championship. They were playing at home against Mainz, while the Bavarians were in Cologne. What happened with 5 minutes left? (Thomas) Tuchel introduced (Jamal) Musiala, who in the final stretch scored 3-2 for Bayern while Borussia did not go beyond a 2-2 draw at home and goodbye to the title due to goal difference..."
Stoichkov is clear about the players to whom he would have given the Golden Boy instead of Bellingham: "Since Gavi was not eligible by regulation, I would have rewarded Musiala (Bayern) or Balde (Alejandro, Barcelona)."
