The 10 best goalkeepers in the world
To appreciate the importance of bagging one of the worlds best goalkeepers, you need look no further than last summer’s transfer business in the Premier League.
The world record fee for a shot-stopper was smashed not once but twice, firstly by Liverpool for Alisson and then by Chelsea with their £72m swoop for Kepa Arrizabalaga.
It s often said that having a reliable man between the sticks will win you several points every season, and the following players are good examples of just that.
10. MANUEL NEUER (BAYERN MUNICH)
Neuer could soon climb his way back to the top of this list, but the last two seasons have been plagued by injury and he endured a horrendous World Cup upon his comeback last summer. Germany were knocked out in the group stage, losing 2-0 to South Korea after Neuer ventured upfield chasing an unlikely leveller, but succeeded only in giving away possession for the killer strike.
He was back in a Bayern shirt last season and skippered the Bavarians to the Bundesliga title before frustratingly ending the campaign back on the treatment table. The 33-year-old - not to mention the Munich faithful - will be hoping 2019/20 is the year he returns to top form.
9. KEPA ARRIZABALAGA (CHELSEA)
Before last summer, Kepa wasn’t known by many fans outside of Spain. Since then, the 23-year-old has made his way into the history books by becoming the world’s most expensive goalkeeper following his £71.6m move to Chelsea from Athletic Bilbao.
The Spaniard adjusted well to life in England, missing just two Premier League appearances in 2018/19 under Maurizio Sarri and keeping 14 clean sheets.
He did, however, refuse to be substituted ahead of the Carabao Cup final penalty shoot-out against Manchester City, which didn’t exactly make him universally popular. Chelsea lost 4-3, although to his credit, Kepa did at least save one.
8. SAMIR HANDANOVIC (INTER MILAN)
For the best part of a decade, Handanovic spent his Serie A career in the shadow of Gianluigi Buffon. Frankly, though, he was quite happy to stay there; unfussily getting on with his job and demonstrating the quiet consistency that has earned him so many admirers in Italy.
The Inter shot-stopper has been ever-reliable while those around him haven’t, and aged 35 has somehow seemed to get better with each season. The Slovenian is proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks, too: under Luciano Spalletti, Inter’s more patient build-up play forced Handanovic to adjust his game accordingly.
He retired from international duty in 2015 to wave through Atletico Madrid’s brilliant Jan Oblak, but remains essential to the club he now captains and has a contract at San Siro through to 2021 that will see him lead Inter into the Antonio Conte era.
7. HUGO LLORIS (TOTTENHAM)
His kicking will always be a stick to beat him with, but Tottenham fans are glad they have Hugo Lloris between the sticks more often than not.
The Frenchman’s ability to pull off breathtaking saves is among the best in the Premier League, and he remains a huge asset to his manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Lloris still has his moments, as he proved with that bizarre balls-up in the World Cup final against Croatia last summer, but the Bleusskipper was magnificent throughout that tournament and followed that up by leading Spurs to their first ever Champions League final.
6. THIBAUT COURTOIS (REAL MADRID)
The biggest compliment you can pay to Courtois is that he doesn’t stand out, and nor does he try to. His excellence comes in his incredible consistency: minute after minute, game after game, month after month.
Rarely is the Belgian pulled up for individual criticism. Mistakes are rare. Simply, he is a centre-back’s dream; a commanding presence who generally does his job with consummate ease, and who has three league titles in two countries to show for it.
However, his first season at Real Madrid was a difficult one to say the least, and Courtois was even dropped for Keylor Navas for a few games after Zinedine Zidane returned to the Bernabeu bench. The 27-year-old is capable of much better than he has displayed in Spain so far and will undoubtedly be determined to show that this season.
5. EDERSON (MANCHESTER CITY)
It’s difficult to remember a goalkeeper emerging quite as impressively as Emerson. The year 2017 was a breakthrough one for the Brazilian shot-stopper, who earned a €40m move to Manchester City that summer and became the second-most expensive keeper in history.
That came after a phenomenal 2016/17 season at Benfica in which he registered 17 clean sheets – 10 in 2017 – and proved to Pep Guardiola that he was the man to replace Claudio Bravo as a dependable sweeper-keeper.
The Catalan was proved right: Ederson was magnificent as City romped to the Premier League title, keeping 17 clean sheets en route, before racking up 20 clean sheets as he and his team somehow got even better in 2018/19.
4. DAVID DE GEA (MANCHESTER UNITED)
There are plenty who believe De Gea to be the best goalkeeper in the world, and with performances like those against Tottenham in 2018/19 and Arsenal in 2017/18 – the latter a genuinely match-winning, 14-save display – it’s very difficult to argue against it.
During more than half a decade of flux at Old Trafford, De Gea has been their only constant: an outstanding performer no matter who he plays with or what changes around him at Manchester United. His three-season dominance of United’s Player of the Season award was only broken in 2016/17 by Ander Herrera, although he lost out to Luke Shaw in 2018/19 after a poor campaign. De Gea has been named in the PFA Team of the Season for five of the last seven seasons, and scooped Match of the Day’s Save of the Season the same number of times since 2013.
He combines the two traits few goalkeepers ever get to boast at the time same: the capability of making gravity-defying saves, and - until the end of 2018/19 at least - consistency that almost eradicates mistakes from his game. Almost.
3. MARC-ANDRE TER STEGEN (BARCELONA)
Ter Stegen’s early career was characterised by some high-profile blunders, but he has now become one of Europe’s most consistent goalkeepers at Barcelona. Really, he should have been Germany's first-choice keeper at Russia 2018, only for Neuer to get the nod ahead of him on reputation alone.
The former Borussia Monchengladbach keeper combines nimble footwork with fine shot-stopping on a weekly basis, and became one of Barça’s better players as they claimed back-to-back La Liga titles. Remember, too, that Ter Stegen is still only 27 – and thus has his best years ahead of him. He’ll be ready and waiting when Neuer hangs up his gloves.
2. ALISSON (LIVERPOOL)
The Brazilian is so good that he keeps out Ederson for the national team. He earned widespread praise in 2017/18 as Roma reached the Champions League semi-finals, before proving to be one of the final pieces in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool jigsaw for 2018/19.
Alisson moved to Anfield for a (then) world record £67 million last summer and helped Klopp’s side clinch Ol’ Big Ears with a 2-0 win over Tottenham in Madrid.
With memories of Loris Karius’s antics in the previous year’s final against Real Madrid still fresh in the memory, the Liverpool faithful are thankful to finally have a top-class No.1 they can rely on.
1. JAN OBLAK (ATLETICO MADRID)
The Slovenian has it all aged only 26: strong command of his penalty area, expert positioning, brilliant shot-stopping ability – and all of it with unerring consistency.
His 100th clean sheet for Atletico Madrid came in just his 178th appearance for them. He has won La Liga's Zamora trophy for the last four campaigns.
Oblak is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world right now – and might just stay there for a very long time.
