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There haven’t been many positions that have changed as much in recent years as the role of a goalkeeper has. It used to be that a goalkeeper’s job was simply to keep the ball out of his net, and that was that. Now though, goalkeepers are expected to have a much more rounded game and contribute with the ball at their feet.
One man who has been crucial to this change has been Pep Guardiola, who has made it a requirement of his goalkeepers that they are good with their feet. He made this clear in his first year at Manchester City, where he cast aside Joe Hart before he had played a single game, and then replaced Claudio Bravo with Ederson after just a year in Manchester.
There has been a bit of a changing of the guard in terms of the best goalkeepers in the world over the last few years. Petr Cech retired from football at the end of last season, while it seems unlikely that Iker Casillas will return to the game after suffering a heart attack in May.
Gianluigi Buffon returned to Juventus in July after a season in France with PSG, but at the age of 41, he isn’t the ‘keeper he once was and is unlikely to appear much in Serie A.
With that in mind, here are the ten best goalkeepers in the world at the moment.
This list is according to the ESPN FC 100 list, which ranks the top 10 players in each position in the world, based on the opinion of top journalists from around the world.
10. Andre Onana - Ajax
2019 has been a quite incredible year for Ajax, particularly for those players who have come through the club's academy. The likes of Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt have moved on to Barcelona and Juventus respectively, but Andre Onana has stuck around for another season at least. The Cameroonian keeper has been at Ajax since his switch from Barcelona in 2015, and he has excelled over the past few years.
Last year, he was one of the side's key players in their impressive run to the Champions League semi-final, where they suffered last-minute heartbreak against Tottenham. They were, however, able to take the Eredivisie title for the first time since 2014. Given his quality, the time may come when a bigger side wants to take the 23-year-old off Ajax's hands.
Also check out: Champions League Schedule Champions League table Champions league top scorers
9. David de Gea - Manchester United
A year ago, David de Gea would probably have been top of these rankings, given how good he has been for United over the course of the last few years. The Red Devils have had limited success since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, but de Gea was always the bright spark and was named the club’s Player of the Year on four occasions between 2014 and 2018, making him the only man to win the award four times, one more than Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, the errors have started to creep into his game a little bit over the last 12 months. The first of them came at the World Cup in Russia, when he let a Ronaldo strike from outside of the box squirm through his body. There were a series of howlers towards the end of last season as well, as he gifted goals to Lionel Messi, Marcos Alonso, and Leroy Sane. He is still a top goalkeeper, but he really needs to cut out these errors.
8. Hugo Lloris - Tottenham
For someone who has captained their country to World Cup glory, Hugo Lloris is often overlooked when it comes to discussions about the best goalkeepers in the world. The Frenchman won football’s greatest prize in 2018, ending France’s 20-year wait for the trophy after victory over Croatia in the final. The 32-year-old has also established himself as one of the best keepers in the Premier League, having spent seven years at Tottenham, during which the club have become regulars in the Champions League.
There have often been questions asked about Lloris, given some of the errors he made in the early stages of the Champions League last season and the problems he faced off-field, which included him being charged with drink driving. However, he is a world-class goalkeeper, and he has shown this consistently in the Premier League. His next step is to win trophies at Tottenham, something he has not yet been able to achieve, though that may change now that Jose Mourinho is at the helm.
7. Kepa Arrizabalaga - Chelsea
Last summer, Kepa Arrizabalaga became a household name when Chelsea made him the most expensive goalkeeper in world football, paying Athletic Bilbao £72 million for his signature. Since then, he has had a good first season in the Premier League, which has helped earn him a spot in the Spain national side, where he has challenged Manchester United’s David de Gea for the number one jersey.
He had a solid, if unspectacular, season in the Premier League, finishing third in the race for the Golden Glove with 14 clean sheets. Where he really excelled though was with the ball at his feet, as he played an important role in Maurizio Sarri’s system. He has continued in much of the same fashion under Frank Lampard this season and has worked well with what has often been a very young centre back pairing in front of him.
6. Wojciech Szczesny - Juventus
No doubt watchers of the Premier League will be a little surprised to see Wojciech Szczesny’s name on this list after a rather unconvincing spell with Arsenal between 2009 and 2017. However, after two seasons on loan at Roma, and now a season as Juventus’ number one under his belt, Szczesny is a different goalkeeper, and he can certainly stake a claim to being one of the best in the world.
Whoever was going to take Buffon’s place was always going to face a huge uphill battle, but the Polish ‘keeper has done a decent job. He is a very good shot-stopper, while he has also helped form a good relationship with the experienced centre back partnership of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, something that was crucial to the success that Buffon had in Italy. He still has a lot to prove, but he is doing a good job so far.
5. Manuel Neuer - Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer is someone who has been considered one of the top goalkeepers in the world for several years now. The German almost revolutionised what it meant to be a sweeper keeper, and it wasn’t unusual that we saw him almost in the back four with the ball at his feet. He also read the game extremely well and was an excellent judge of when to come off his line to help out his defenders.
However, things have been a little bit different for Neuer of late. Since picking up a serious foot injury at the beginning of the 2017/18 season, the 33-year-old’s form has been a bit up and down. Since that point, he has made many costly errors, particularly when it has come to needlessly charging off his line. He remains a top shot-stopper, and will no doubt remain at the top of the game for another few years, but he really needs to cut out those errors.
4. Ederson Moraes - Manchester City
When it comes to goalkeepers who are good with their feet, there are none better than Ederson, whose ability with the ball is almost unrivalled amongst ‘keepers. The Brazilian has become a vital part of Pep Guardiola’s side that has conquered English football, with his ability to take and distribute the ball in tight areas, and the trust his teammates have to give him the ball in any situation.
That isn’t taking anything away from his shot-stopping either, as he has proven himself to be a fine goalkeeper who has adapted well to the physicality of the Premier League. He kept 36 clean sheets throughout the past two seasons and was a vital part of City’s domestic treble-winning side last season. His next target will be to dislodge Alisson as Brazil’s number one goalkeeper, as the 26-year-old has appeared just five times for his country at senior level.
3. Marc-Andre ter Stegen - Barcelona
At Barcelona, goalkeepers are rarely the centre of attention. For years, Victor Valdes was the undisputed number one at the Camp Nou, and even despite the odd howler, he rarely came under pressure. However, with Barcelona now considerably weaker than they were when Valdes was there at the turn of the decade, there is more scrutiny on ter Stegen, but he seems to be dealing with it extremely well.
He has kept 35 clean sheets in La Liga over the last two seasons and has proven himself to be a fine shot-stopper, and it won’t be long now until he will be taking over Manuel Neuer as Germany’s number one. He is, like almost all the world’s best goalkeepers at the moment, excellent with the ball at his feet, and he fits the ethos of Barcelona. At 27, he should still have time to improve and could become one of Barcelona’s greatest ‘keepers.
2. Jan Oblak - Atletico Madrid
Despite all the talk about goalkeepers being good with the ball at their feet, their main job is simply to keep the ball out of the net, and there aren't many better than Jan Oblak when it comes to doing so. The Slovenian ‘keeper joined Atletico Madrid from Benfica in 2014 for a fee of just over £14 million, and he has turned out to be a bit of a bargain. His record in La Liga is quite remarkable. He has appeared 166 times in Spain’s top division, conceding just 100 goals, and keeping a quite incredible 97 clean sheets.
He has, of course, benefitted from Atletico building one of the strongest defences in European football, and being managed by Diego Simeone, a man who prides himself on having an organised back four. However, without a doubt, he is a genuinely world-class goalkeeper, and at this point, one of the top two or three in the world.
1. Alisson Becker - Liverpool
When Liverpool were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League Final, after two absolute howlers from Loris Karius, it was clear that Liverpool would need a new goalkeeper before they would be able to achieve real, sustained success at Anfield. The goalkeeper they turned to was Alisson, who, for just over a week, became the most expensive ‘keeper in world football when Liverpool bought him from Roma for a fee of £67 million.
He has proved to be worth the money, playing a key role as Liverpool came runners-up in the Premier League with a club-record 97 points, and won the Champions League for the sixth time. He has given an air of confidence to a previously shaky backline and cut down on the number of errors that we have seen in the Liverpool goal in recent years. With Liverpool looking to finally break their Premier League duck this season, Alisson will be key.
