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Goal (website)

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Goal

Type of site

Sports journalism
Available in
Founded1998; 28 years ago (as a domain name)
Headquarters,

England

Area servedWorldwide
Owner
Founders
  • Chicco Merighi
  • Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni
CEOJuan Delgado
IndustryJournalism
ServicesAssociation football news
URLgoal.com
Launched1998 (domain)
2005 (current state)
Current statusActive

Goal, stylized in all caps and alternatively known as Goal.com, is a website currently dedicated to the coverage of international association football. Currently owned by the Integrated Media Company (IMC) division of TPG Inc. since 2020,[1] it is published in 18 languages across 38 global regions and edited by over 500 contributors as of 2019.[2]

Sports statics company Perform Group acquired Goal.com for £18 million from its previous investors, which included Bessemer Venture Partners.[3][4][5] In 2012, the website was investigated by HM Revenue and Customs department of the UK government over the use of unpaid interns.[6]

In August 2016, Perform Group launched the online sports video streaming service DAZN. In September 2018 Perform Group was split into two companies: DAZN Group (named after its streaming service) for its consumer content operations, and Perform Content for its business-to-business services. Under this new structure, GOAL sat under DAZN. In March 2019, DAZN re-organized the Perform Media division into DAZN Media, which includes GOAL. In late 2020, GOAL, alongside Spox and Voetbalzone were packaged as a new company called FootballCo. Shortly after, a majority stake in FootballCo. was purchased by Integrated Media Company (IMC) which is a division of TPG Capital.[1]

As of mid-2023, Goal was the fifth most popular sports news website in the UK, with 1.5 million monthly British readers according to a report by Press Gazette.[7]

In 2017 and 2020, GOAL won the Best Sports News Site award at The Drum Online Media Awards.[8]

Since the 2007–08 season, the best 50 players of the respective season are selected by GOAL reporters and ranked as part of Goal's "Goal 50."[9] Starting from the 2018–19 season, the 50 players were divided into 25 men and 25 women, with a winner from both genders being crowned. In 2021 voting was changed, with the list of available players chosen by GOAL journalists and the ranking decided by a public vote.

Lionel Messi is the record winner of the award having won it 7 times overall.
Season Winner Club(s)
2007–08 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United
2008–09 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2009–10 Wesley Sneijder Internazionale
2010–11 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2011–12 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
2012–13 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2013–14 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
2014–15 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2015–16 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
2016–17 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
2017–18 Luka Modrić Real Madrid
2018–19 Virgil van Dijk Liverpool
2019–20 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich
2020–21 Lionel Messi[10] Barcelona
2021–22 Lionel Messi[11] Paris Saint-Germain
2022–23 Lionel Messi[12] Paris Saint-Germain
Inter Miami
2023–24 Rodri Manchester City
2024–25 Lamine Yamal[13] Barcelona
Season Winner Club(s)
2018–19 Megan Rapinoe Reign FC
2019–20 Pernille Harder VfL Wolfsburg
Chelsea
2020–21 Alexia Putellas Barcelona
2021–22 Alexia Putellas Barcelona
2022–23 Racheal Kundananji Madrid CFF
2023–24 Aitana Bonmatí Barcelona

Since the 2016, GOAL has ranked the 50 best players aged under 19 for that respective season, with selections made by GOAL's network of journalists. The resulting list is known as the NXGN list, with the first-ranked players receiving the NXGN winner's award.[14]

Since 2020, a women's list and award has also been published and handed out.[15]

Season Winner Club(s)
2016 Youri Tielemans Anderlecht
2017 Gianluigi Donnarumma Milan
2018 Justin Kluivert Ajax
2019 Jadon Sancho Borussia Dortmund
2020 Rodrygo Real Madrid
2021 Ansu Fati Barcelona
2022 Jude Bellingham Borussia Dortmund[16]
2023 This year the top 50 men's wonderkids players was not ranked. - [17]
2024 Lamine Yamal Barcelona[18]
2025 Lamine Yamal Barcelona[19]
Season Winner Club(s)
2020 Lena Oberdorf SGS Essen
2021 Hanna Bennison FC Rosengård
2022 Melchie Dumornay Reims
  1. ^ a b "IMC sign agreement to acquire Goal". Goal. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Goal". Perform Group. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  3. ^ Farey-Jones, Daniel (23 February 2011). "Perform challenges Sky with Goal.com acquisition". Campaign. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  4. ^ Wauters, Robin (23 February 2011). "Score! Perform Group Buys Goal.com From Bessemer To Go Direct-To-Consumer". TechCrunch. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  5. ^ Sweney, Mark (16 May 2012). "Perform buys data company RunningBall for £95m". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  6. ^ Malik, Shiv (23 December 2012). "Football site Goal.com investigated over use of 30 unpaid interns a week". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  7. ^ Majid, Aisha (13 July 2023). "Most popular websites for sports news in UK: updated ranking". Press Gazette. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  8. ^ "The Drum: Best Sports News Site". The Drum. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Cahill named in Goal 50 list". Socceroos. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  10. ^ "GOAL50 2021: Messi and Putellas crowned winners after historic fan vote". Goal.com. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  11. ^ "GOAL50 2022: Messi, Putellas and Maradona crowned winners after global fan vote". Goal.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  12. ^ "GOAL50 2023: Lionel Messi beats Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham to men's award as Racheal Kundananji crowned women's winner after global fan vote". Goal.com. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembele and GOAL's top 50 players of the 2024-25 European season - ranked". Goal.com. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  14. ^ "NxGn 2019". Goal. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  15. ^ "NxGn 2020: The 10 best wonderkids in women's football | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  16. ^ "NXGN 2022: The 50 best wonderkids in football". 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  17. ^ "NXGN 2023: The 50 best wonderkids in football". 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  18. ^ "NXGN 2024: The 50 best wonderkids in football". 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  19. ^ "NXGN 2025: The 50 best teenage wonderkids in football". 18 March 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.