To be a good goalkeeper in the modern era of soccer, you need to be agile, good with your feet, and able to play the ball out from the back. All of the keepers discussed in this top-5 ranking tick those boxes and more. Whether you’re a goalkeeper yourself or are simply a fan of soccer, you’ll be interested to learn who the number 1 goalkeeper in the world is.
1. Ederson (Manchester City)
Ederson is widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world. On top of this, he’s also regarded as one of the best Brazilian keepers of all time, ranking amongst all-time names like Dida and Émerson Leão.
Over recent years, Pep Guardiola has transformed Manchester City. One of the reasons he has been able to do this is because of Ederson. He’s a keeper that can do it all, from shot blocking to playing long passes out from the back. Ederson’s shot-stopping and passing are so good that he has received back-to-back Golden Glove awards, which is a very rare thing to happen in the soccer industry.
If you speak to any Manchester City fan, they’ll tell you that Ederson is the heartbeat of their team with a total of 97 career clean sheets. If you remove Ederson, you remove a major block of City’s defensive stability.
When it comes to sports betting in the US, Manchester City are usually the favorites and are given the best odds by sportsbooks to win and to keep a clean sheet. This is the case no matter who they play, whether it’s a Premier League side or a lower league in the FA Cup. This is largely thanks to Ederson.
Moving into the future, if Ederson was ever to request a transfer, it’s expected that Manchester City could demand up to $100 million for him.
2. David De Gea (Manchester United)
Despite his critics, David De Gea is still one of the best in the business. For over a decade, he has held down the number one spot as Manchester United’s main goalkeeper, and he shows no signs of letting go any time soon.
Although De Gea has his weaknesses (e.g., being unable to run outside of his box to clear long passes), his shot-stopping ability and all-round awareness make up for it.
If you flashback to the 2021-2022 Premier League season, De Gea largely carried Manchester United on his back, preventing them from dropping even further down the table. On countless occasions, he made last-minute saves that gave United all 3 points – even on occasions when they didn’t deserve it!
3. Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
Alisson Becker has already cemented himself as a Liverpool legend. Just like Ederson, he is regarded as one of the best Brazilian keepers of all time, having won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, and various other trophies. He’s still only 30 years of age, meaning he’ll likely be playing at the top level for years to come.
4. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Courtois has had a legendary career as a goalkeeper. He started off with Genk before finally making it to Real Madrid in 2018. Despite Real Madrid fans being notoriously hard to please, they have fallen in love with Courtois and his ability to save penalties and prevent short-range shots from going in. He is also the main reason why Real Madrid won the Champions League final in 2022, which is why he was deservedly rewarded with the ‘Man of the Match’ reward.
5. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
Manuel Neuer is the most iconic German goalkeeper to ever play the game. Despite slowly reaching the end of his career, he’s still at the top of his game with Bayern Munich and the German national team. When it comes to being a pure ‘sweeper-keeper’, nobody is better.