Ranking the 10 best goalkeepers in the world

They say you’d be mad to be a goalkeeper, and they’re probably right. You can have one of the games of your life, make saves left, right and centre, but make one mistake, and everyone forgets about all the good things you have done previously.

Goalkeepers never really get the credit they deserve. It is probably the toughest job in football. Often, ‘keepers can go a long time without really having to make a save, then be called into action in a crucial moment. Nowhere else on the field demands that level of concentration.

If that wasn’t hard enough already, it seems like now is even harder to be a goalkeeper than ever. No longer are they just expected to be good shot stoppers, but they are expected to be capable with the ball at their feet as well.

This is something we have seen most notably from Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, who immediately got rid of Joe Hart when he joined the club, then after less than a year got rid of Claudio Bravo after he struggled to settle in England. We have seen a similar story at Arsenal, where Unai Emery insists on Petr Cech passing the ball out from the back, even though it is clear that this isn’t his strength.

Here are the top ten goalkeepers in the word at the moment.

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#10 Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)

Kepa is the most expensive goalkeeper in world football

Kepa wasn’t a familiar name to many a month or two ago. He had been excellent for Athletic Bilbao over the last couple of years and would have moved to Real Madrid in January had it not been for Zinedine Zidane pulling the plug on the deal. Now, however, he will be perhaps the most scrutinised player in the Premier League, and maybe all of Europe this season, after Chelsea broke the world record for a goalkeeper to bring him to the club for £72 million.

There is no doubting that he is a very good goalkeeper though. He is an excellent shot stopper and is very adept when it comes to playing the ball out from the back. £72 million is an awful lot of money though for someone who hasn’t really proven themselves at the highest level, but if he can fulfil his undoubted potential, he could become an even better player than he already is.

#9 Jordan Pickford (Everton)

Pickford has been brilliant over the last 18 months

A lot of questions were asked last summer when Everton paid £30 million to bring Pickford to the club from Sunderland. The ‘keeper was a bright spark for the Black Cats as they were relegated from the Premier League, and he was fully deserving of his move back to the top flight. He was once again part of a struggling side last year, with a poor defence, but he still put in some very impressive performances for the Toffees.

He really made a name for himself at the World Cup though, and put in some heroic displays for England, including saving from Carlos Bacca in the penalty shootout against Colombia as the Three Lions won their first ever World Cup penalty shootout. There are some things he still needs to work on, but he is already proving himself as a quality ‘keeper. He is part of a better Everton side now, and will hopefully get the success his talent deserves.

#8 Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)

Neuer has struggled over the past year or so

For at least five years, Neuer was probably the best goalkeeper in the world, and the numerous titles he won with Bayern Munich, as well as the World Cup with Germany, was a testament to that. He was a tremendous shot stopper and was probably the one truly world class sweeper keeper in the world at that point.

However, as he has got older, and while he suffered from the fractured foot he picked up last year, his powers have dwindled slightly, and he is no longer the player he once was. His shot-stopping ability is still there, but he isn’t as agile as he was in his prime, and his judgement and composure isn’t as good as it was.

This was abundantly clear at the World Cup, where he gave the ball away in the left wing position against South Korea, allowing them to score, and knock Germany out of the tournament.

#7 Samir Handanovic (Inter Milan)

Handanovic has spent the last six years at Inter Milan

Handanovic isn’t a man who is often mentioned in conversations regarding the best goalkeepers in the world. This may be because he hasn’t played for some of the top sides in the world, even though he has put in consistently excellent performances during his career. He is currently at Inter Milan, and although they are one of the best-known clubs in the world, they have been going through a slightly torrid time of late.

At the international level, he has won 81 caps for Slovenia, and although he enjoyed a very good international career before retiring from duty in 2015, it is hard to look back to say they achieved much. His penalty record is something that makes him stand out from other goalkeepers. He has saved 23 penalties in Serie A, the second most of any goalkeeper, but he has the best success rate.

#6 Alisson Becker (Liverpool)

Liverpool paid over £60 million for Alisson this summer

For a couple of weeks this summer, Alisson was the most expensive goalkeeper in football history after Liverpool paid Roma over £60 million for his services, only for Chelsea to surpass that fee when bringing in Kepa. It was clear from the moment the Champions League Final ended that Liverpool were going to need a new goalkeeper to replace Loris Karius after his two howlers against Real Madrid.

Obviously, we are yet to see the best of him at Liverpool, though we may have seen the worst, after a mistake at Leicester City. He is a top class ‘keeper though, and although he may not be as adept with his feet as some of the other ‘keepers on this list, that isn’t his number one job. He is a very good shot stopper and played a key part in Roma’s run to the Champions League semi-final. He will hope to bring a similar level of performance to the Premier League.

#5 Ederson (Manchester City)

Ederson is the perfect goalkeeper for Manchester City

In the era of having a goalkeeper capable of playing the ball out from the back, Ederson is probably the best of the lot. It isn’t an understatement to say that he has the passing range of a midfielder, and he might just be the perfect goalkeeper for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola. His pass to set up Sergio Aguero for his opener against Huddersfield Town a couple of weeks ago was as good an assist as we’ll see anywhere in the Premier League this season.

It isn’t just with the ball at his feet where he has excelled in the Premier League. His shot stopping abilities are up there with the very best, even though he isn’t tested as much as some of the other ‘keepers on this list. He is still only 25, so will get better as he gains more experience, and given that he is already a world-class goalkeeper, he could go on to be one of the greats.

#4 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)

Courtois has made his dream move to Real Madrid this summer

Courtois has been a man who hasn’t been able to keep out of the headlines in recent weeks. Firstly, he won the Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper at the World Cup in Russia, before forcing through a move away from Chelsea to join Real Madrid in a deal worth £35 million. Since then, he has been making constant digs at Chelsea in the press, and any respect Blues fans have for him isn’t there anymore.

There are no doubts about his ability though, and he will no doubt prove to be an excellent signing for Real. If there is one thing that Courtois is good at, it’s dealing with balls into the box. He has the height to reach balls into the box, but he is maybe the only ‘keeper in the world with the confidence to catch crosses. He takes the pressure off his defence so well, and that will be a vital addition for Real.

#3 Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)

ter Stegen has been Barcelona's number one for the last two years

Although it looks like Manuel Neuer will remain Germany’s number one for the foreseeable future, ter Stegen seems to have surpassed him as a goalkeeper. The Barca man has improved greatly since he became number one at the Camp Nou following Claudio Bravo’s exit. At 26, he has begun to fulfil that obvious potential that he had from a young age and is now one of the top goalkeepers in Europe.

He is also one of the top sweeper keepers in the world, and is more than good enough with the ball at his feet, something that is certainly required of him at Barcelona. He is also a leader of the back four and reads the game very well for a goalkeeper. He is a top shot-stopper as well and played an important part of Barcelona’s run to the LaLiga title last season.

#2 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)

Oblak has become a world-class 'keeper at Atletico

There is no real explanation for Oblak being talked about less than some of the other goalkeepers on this list because he is undoubtedly a world-class ‘keeper. He may not be as good with his feet as some of his peers, but he has won the La Liga Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper in the division in each of the last three seasons, so he must be doing something right.

He is part of one of the best backlines in world football, and although he may not have won as many major honours as he may have wanted at this stage in his career, he is still only 25, so time is most certainly on his side. It seems remarkable that Atletico paid Benfica just £14 million to sign Oblak in 2014, and he is worth at least five times that now.

#1 David de Gea (Manchester United)

de Gea has been United's best player for a number of years

Simply, de Gea is the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment, and there is very little doubt about that. He seemed slightly out of his depth at Old Trafford when he first joined the club in 2011, but he seems to have got better with every passing year and is now the most important player at United. He has been United’s Player of the Year in four of the past five years, and rightly so.

It has been a turbulent time at United since Sir Alex Ferguson resigned in 2013, and de Gea has been the one constant. He has never been able to fully trust the defenders in front of him, but he continues to put in outstanding performances week-in, week-out at club level. He may have had troubles on the international stage with Spain, particularly at the World Cup in Russia. There is no doubting though that he is the best shot stopper in the world.