Goal (website)
| File:Goal (website) Logo.jpg | |
| Owner | DAZN Group |
|---|---|
| URL | https://www.goal.com/en |
| Launched | 2004 |
| Current status | Active |
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Goal is an international association football news website founded in 2004 by Chicco Merighi and Gianluigi Longinotti-Buitoni. It is currently owned by DAZN Group. Goal is the largest online football publication in the world,[2] and the 2nd largest online sports publication in the world (behind ESPN only).[2] Goal represents one of the largest football communities in the world with 19 language versions covering more than 50 countries.[3] The website provides users with live scores and the latest news from football clubs through its interactive web site, mobile apps and social channels.
Goal is published in 19 languages, with 38 national editions and 500 contributors.[4][5]
History
Goal was acquired by Perform Group in 2011, paying £18 million to the website's investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners.[6][7][8]
In 2012, the website was investigated by HM Revenue and Customs department of the UK government over the use of unpaid interns.[9]
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.
Awards
In 2017 Goal won the Best Sports News Site award at The Drum Online Media Awards. "[10]
Goal 50
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."[11] 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.
Men's Winners
| 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
|
Women's Winners
| Season | Winner | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 |  Megan Rapinoe |
Reign FC
|
NxGn
Since the 2017–18 season, Goal has ranked the 50 best players aged under 19 for that respective season, with selections made by Goal's reporters, the resulting list is known as the NxGn list "NxGn."[12]
Winners
| Season | Winner | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Gianluigi Donnarumma |
AC Milan
|
| 2017–18 | Justin Kluivert |
Ajax
|
| 2018–19 | Jadon Sancho |
 Borussia Dortmund
|
Greatest player of all time
- On 4 December 2015, Goal had the voting for the Greatest of All Time. Lionel Messi was the winner with 52% of the total votes, while Cristiano Ronaldo came in second place.[13][14]
References
- ^ "Goal.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
- ^ a b "The top 500 sites on the web - By Category". Alexa. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
- ^ "About Us". Goal. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
- ^ "Goal.com". Perform Group. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ "Goal.com". Crunchbase. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ Farey-Jones, Daniel (23 February 2011). "Perform challenges Sky with Goal.com acquisition". Campaign. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ Wauters, Robin (23 February 2011). "Score! Perform Group Buys Goal.com From Bessemer To Go Direct-To-Consumer". TechCrunch. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (16 May 2012). "Perform buys data company RunningBall for £95m". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ Malik, Shiv (23 December 2012). "Football site Goal.com investigated over use of 30 unpaid interns a week". THe Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ "The Drum: Best Sports News Site". The Drum. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Cahill named in Goal 50 list". Socceroos. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ "NxGn 2019". Goal. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Goal 50 winner Messi voted best player of all-time by Goal readers | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ "Messi or Ronaldo? The Goal 50 ranking the 50 best footballers in the world of 2017". www.goal.com. Retrieved 6 April 2019.