Messi & Neymar on the brink of a Halloween Treat: Whose Golden Feet Will Rest in Monaco?

After a brief hiatus, the Golden Foot Awards are back in Monaco for their 21st edition on October 31. Football fans around the world are eagerly awaiting to see who will take over from Robert Lewandowski on the Promenade des Champions. The names in contention this year are nothing short of spectacular: Messi, Neymar, de Bruyne, and more.

The awards, which took a one-year break in 2023 to focus on international expansion, will once again gather the football elite in the Principality. This Halloween promises to be a night filled with football’s biggest stars parading down the red carpet at the Fairmont Monte-Carlo, an event that blends the Halloween holiday with the glamour of the sport.

The Golden Foot is not just any football award; it recognizes players not only for their outstanding on-field performances—whether as individuals or as part of a team—but also for their character. Eligible recipients must be at least 28 years old and can only win the award once, making it a unique and highly coveted accolade.

Past Words from Monaco’s Royalty

Prince Albert: “I feel incredibly privileged for Monaco to have the ‘Promenade des Champions.’ It is a unique feature, not only in the Principality, but probably in the world. It has welcomed so many champions over the years, including mythical figures of football like Pele and Maradona, and I can name many others. The ‘Golden Foot Monaco Awards’ is a wonderful occasion to celebrate all these great champions and I am very proud the Principality is home to the ‘Promenade of Champions,’” remarked H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Nominees and New Honours

This year’s nominees include an impressive lineup: Marco Verratti (Al-Arabi), Lionel Messi (Miami FC), Neymar Jr. (Al-Hilal), Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), and Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City).

Interestingly, for the first time, there will be no public voting. Instead, a committee of professionals, led by Antonio Caliendo—the famed player agent and founder of the Golden Foot—will decide the winner. Lionel Messi, who has already claimed the Ballon d’Or eight times, is considered a frontrunner for the award, which remains one of the few individual honours missing from his illustrious career.

Since its inception in 2003, the Golden Foot Award has been bestowed upon football legends like Roberto Baggio, Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lewandowski, to name just a few. This year, the women’s trophy is up for grabs between two Ballon d’Or winners: the American star Alex Morgan and the Spanish sensation Aitana Bonmati. Additionally, the Golden Foot Prestige, introduced in 2020, will honour a club president.

Three former players, selected by their peers, will also be immortalized by having their footprints enshrined on the Promenade des Champions. In a new twist, this year will see the introduction of the Golden Foot Prodige “Rainier III,” awarded to an emerging young football talent on the global stage.

In the Beginning…

It all started with Antonio Caliendo—the famed player agent.

Did you know that in the Final of the 1990 World Championship, which took place in Rome between Germany and Argentina, twelve out of twenty-two players were his agency’s clients. Then in 2003, he gave birth to the «Golden Foot» Award.

Antonio Caliendo sharedwith HelloMonaco in an interview what makes him happy in addition to nurturing the Golden Foot Award:

“When I wake up in the morning my first thought usually goes to those who are in trouble. Then, I start working as I am used to doing, always with the aim at helping others who need it. That makes me happy. I never forget life’s difficulties; I experienced them myself, after all.”