Aging system

Every player in GOALS has a career. They are generated between 16–24 years old and retire between 34–40 years old

Younger players are more likely to have higher potential. This means you’ll often have more time to develop your most promising talents.

How aging works

Aging is tied to active play, not real time.

- Each time you play a match, a 1-week aging cycle starts
- After that week passes, all players in your club age by 1 year
- Aging then pauses until you play again

This means:
- You can take breaks without being penalized
- Your players only age when you actively play

Why all players age
(not just the ones you use)

Aging applies to every player in your club, not just your starting XI.

This is intentional.

If aging only affected players used in matches, the optimal strategy would be to avoid playing your favorite players to preserve them—which goes against the experience we want to create.

Instead, you’re always free to:

- Play who you want
- Build your team your way

And importantly, this system is balanced by progression (more on that soon).

Retirement and what comes after

Once a player turns 34, they begin to risk retiring. When a player retires:
- They remain in your club
- They can no longer play matches

But they’re far from useless. You have three options:

1. Use them in Swaps

Swap retired players for rewards

2. Sell them

Sell your retired players for points

3. Convert them into Legends

Legends are special versions of your retired players that can be used in matches. They keep their rating, stats and characteristics. However, they come with a trade-off:
- All legends have a fixed age of 40
- They have a higher impact on your squad’s average age

What does the squad’s average age do? It can give stat boosts or stat penalties. So this means that in theory you can build a team full of legends but in practice you’ll need to balance your squad carefully to get the most out of the team.

Progression

While players age over time, they also improve.

In GOALS every player in your club earns XP, not just the ones you use in matches.

This ensures that you’re never forced to play weaker players just to develop them and your entire club grows alongside your journey.

How XP works

Players earn XP from:
- Matches
- Game modes
- Challenges
- Swaps

When a player reaches enough XP:

- A new upgrade becomes available
- Activating it increases their rating and stats

Upgrades are currently automatic, but future updates aim to give you more control over how players develop.

Potential matters more
than current rating

One of the most important concepts in GOALS is that a player’s current rating does not define their value. Their potential does.

Every player is generated with two key ratings:
- Initial Rating → their starting level
- Target Rating → the level they can reach through progression

Example

A player with:
- Initial Rating: 49
- Target Rating: 94

…might look weak at first glance but is actually a player with elite potential long-term.

Upgrade system
(and why it’s dynamic)

The number of upgrades a player gets depends on their potential gap:
Target Rating – Initial Rating

- Minimum upgrades: 1
- Maximum upgrades: 8

Higher potential = more upgrade steps

Target rating can change

Each time you activate an upgrade, the player’s target rating is adjusted by: -1, 0, or +1. This creates excitement and variation for every upgrade.

Example:

- Target Rating: 84
- After upgrade → could become 83, 84, or 85

Over a full career:

- Players with many upgrades can deviate more from their original potential
- Players close to their peak are more predictable

Understanding player ranges

To help you evaluate players, GOALS shows a potential range.

This range is calculated as: Target Rating ± remaining upgrades

Example

- Current Rating: 62
- Target Rating: 84
- Upgrades remaining: 5

→ Potential range: 79–89

As upgrades are used the range narrows and the player’s true potential becomes clearer.

Example (after progression)

- Current Rating: 77
- Target Rating: 86 (Adjusted by +2 after lucky upgrades)
- Upgrades remaining: 2

→ Range: 84–88

End of progression

Once a player has used all their upgrades, their rating becomes final. Even when a player retires, they’ll stop earning XP but you can still activate any upgrades you’ve unlocked.

Important: Upgrades and Legends

Just keep in mind that before you can convert a player into a Legend, all of those available upgrades must be activated. We’ve designed it this way because the cost to convert is based on the final rating, so this prevents any exploits for cheaper Legends and ensures every legend truly earns their status.