Goal 50 is voted on by Goal’s global network of hundreds of journalists, correspondents and editors and is based on players’ performances over the past 12 months.
Speaking exclusively to Goal, Lewandowski said: “It feels very good – if you win an individual title, that’s another nice extra. Football is a team sport, but these additional awards mean a lot to me too. It shows that the hard work you put in every day will one day pay off. “As long as you play football, you have to stay hungry. After your career you can think about what you have won. Getting to the top is difficult, but staying at the top is even more difficult.”
A full interview with Lewandowski can be found on Goal.
Lewandowski’s place at the top of the Goal 50 list is influenced by him scoring 55 goals in 47 games during Bayern Munich’s treble-winning campaign, finishing as top scorer in the Bundesliga, the DFBPokal and the Champions League.
Behind Lewandowski on the men’s list are Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (2nd), Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (3rd), Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar (4th), and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo (5th).
Harder’s 2020 Goal 50 award is her second in four years, following her being named the best female player of the year by Goal in 2017. More recently, the Dane scored 27 goals in 21 league games for Wolfsburg, nine goals in seven Champions League outings and added another two to her season’s tally in the German cup. Harder collected winners’ medals in two of those competitions, doing the league and cup double in Germany for the fourth season running, while finishing as a runner-up in Europe.
Harder left Wolfsburg for Chelsea at the end of last season. Speaking exclusively to Goal, Harder said: “It is always nice to get these individual awards. It tells me that what I am doing is the right thing and I am going in the right way. “Of course, to win these awards is all about the team and teammates. I had some amazing teammates in Wolfsburg and I had an amazing time there.”
A full video interview with Harder can be found on Goal.
Behind Harder on 2020’s list are Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema (2nd), Lucy Bronze (3rd) who left Lyon for Man City in the summer, and Dzsenifer Marozsan (4th) and Wendie Renard (5th) of Lyon.
Lyon’s 2019-20 season saw them win the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Division 1 Feminine and the Coupe de France Feminine. Lyon’s dominant season sees them with seven players on the 2020 Goal 50 list, including the aforementioned Marozsan and Renard (5th), as well as Saki Kumagai (7th), Amandine Henry (8th), Griedge Mbock Bathy (12th), Amel Majri (18th), Eugenie Le Sommer (21st).
This year’s women’s list lacks many of the players from the US Women’s national team who appeared in 2019’s list. This was influenced by the 2020 National Women’s Soccer League season being cancelled due to Covid-19.
Bayern Munich’s treble-winning season sees six of their current squad featuring on the men’s list. While Lewandowski tops the 2020 Goal 50, Thomas Muller (9th) also features alongside Joshua Kimmich (11th), Serge Gnabry (16th), Alphonso Davies (20th), and Manuel Neuer (21st). While many players on the 2020 list have appeared in previous Goal 50s, including Kylian Mbappe (6th), Karim Benzema (8th), and 2019 winner Virgil van Dijk (7th), the 2020 list also sees some new faces.
Lazio’s Ciro Immobile is 19th, after becoming only the second man in history to bag 36 goals across a single Serie A campaign. Dortmund duo Erling Haaland (17th) and Jadon Sancho (24th), Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (22nd) and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson (23rd) also appear on a Goal 50 list for the first time. Previous Winners Previous male winners of Goal 50 include Virgil van Dijk (2019), Luka Modric (2018), Cristiano Ronaldo (2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008), Lionel Messi (2015, 2013, 2011, 2009), and Wesley Sneijder (2010). Goal introduced an award for the best-ranked women’s player in 2017. Since then, the award has been won by Pernille Harder (2017), Sam Kerr (2018) and Megan Rapinoe (2019).
The full Goal 50 list is available now on Goal.
