Top 5 goalkeepers in the world right now according to fans (2021)

Who is the best goalkeeper in the world? The fans have had their say!
Who is the best goalkeeper in the world? The fans have had their say!

Goalkeepers have always been key players for every team throughout every era of football that there has been. In spite of their importance to their teams, goalkeepers rarely receive plaudits when things go well.

Instead, when the tables turn, the goalkeepers receive lots of scrutiny from the media and football fans alike.

The last goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or was Russia's Lev Yashin in 1963, and no other custodian has achieved the feat since then. Due to this, a separate award was created for goalkeepers in 2019, known as the Yashin Trophy.

The winner of this year's Yashin Trophy is due to be announced on November 29th alongside the Ballon d'Or winner. Here is a list of the five best goalkeepers in the world this year, according to the fans' survey in the GOAL50 list.


#5 Emiliano Martinez

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa - Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa - Premier League

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has had a brilliant 2021 on a personal level. The Argentine shot-stopper joined Villa from Arsenal for a reported £20 million in search of regular first-team football.

Martinez achieved a clean sheet record at Villa Park in the 2020-21 season with his 15 shutouts equalling Brad Friedel's record haul. His performance for Aston Villa in the Premier League saw him emerge as the third best goalkeeper in the league behind Ederson and Edouard Mendy.

Martinez also became the Argentinean with the most Premier League career clean sheets with 21.

Martinez achieved his lifelong goal of representing his native Argentina, and even helped his country win its first trophy since 1993 by lifting the Copa America. Martinez was widely referred to as one of the world's best goalkeepers in 2021 and is in the running for the Yashin Trophy.


#4 Keylor Navas

Paris Saint-Germain v Manchester City - UEFA Champions League Semi Final: Leg One
Paris Saint-Germain v Manchester City - UEFA Champions League Semi Final: Leg One

Keylor Navas has maintained his stature as one of the world's best goalkeepers for the last seven years. The Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper performed excellently in the 2020-21 season despite the French giants surrendering the Ligue 1 title to Lille.

Over the summer, PSG signed 22-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma to rival Navas for the first-choice position, but the Costa Rica international has impressed for Les Parisiens. Navas remains as Paris Saint-Germain's first-choice goalkeeper and was included on the shortlist for the Yashin Trophy as well.

#3 Jan Oblak

Atletico Madrid v AC Milan: Group B - UEFA Champions League
Atletico Madrid v AC Milan: Group B - UEFA Champions League

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak came out in third place in the fan poll for goalkeepers after his consistent showings for club and country. The Slovenian shot-stopper has developed a knack for making outrageous saves for Los Colchoneros in La Liga and UEFA Champions League.

Oblak helped Atletico Madrid win their first La Liga title since 2014, keeping 18 clean sheets in 38 appearances in the league last season.

He conceded only 25 goals en route to winning La Liga, and was named the Goalkeeper of the Year in the Spanish league. He was also the La Liga Player of the Season. Like the others, Oblak is also in the running for this year's Yashin Trophy after an excellent all-round performance in 2021.


#2 Edouard Mendy

Brentford v Chelsea - Premier League
Brentford v Chelsea - Premier League

Chelsea's Edouard Mendy has caused quite the buzz since joining the English side from Rennes. The 29-year-old Senegalese star has been instrumental in changing Chelsea's fortunes over the past 18 months.

Mendy kept 16 clean sheets in his debut league campaign for Chelsea and conceded a miserly four goals en route to winning the UEFA Champions League.

He has been Europe's best goalkeeper by a distance this season, keeping seven clean sheets in the Premier League and another four in the Champions League.

The Senegalese goalkeeper was named UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Year. In addition to the Yashin Trophy, Mendy is also in the running for this year's FIFA Best Men's Goalkeeper of the Year award.


#1 Gianluigi Donnarumma

Italy v Switzerland - 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Italy v Switzerland - 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier

Gianluigi Donnarumma is surprisingly still only 22 years old. The Italian goalkeeper has been around for ages, having made his first-team debut for AC Milan aged just 16.

Despite his immense talent, Donnarumma has often gone under the radar because he played for a struggling AC Milan side, and the Italian national team was not doing so well. This year, however, all that changed for the Neapolitan.

Donnarumma joined French giants Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer from his boyhood club after the expiry of his contract at the club. He also played a vital role for the Italian national team in their success at Euro 2020, saving two penalties in the final shootout against England at Wembley.

The young goalkeeper was voted as the best in the world by fans, and he can only get better with time. Alongside Mendy, he is also a strong contender for both the Yashin Trophy as well as the FIFA Best Men's Goalkeeper of the Year award.

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Edited by Nived Zenith