Best Soccer Goalkeepers in the World

A former international coach and scout shares his thoughts on the top keepers of today's game.

Best Soccer Goalkeepers in the World

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea stops a shot by Real Madrid's Ander Herrera during a 2018 International Champions Cup tournament soccer match.

"Goalkeepers are different," to invoke the title of soccer writing legend Brian Glanville’s 1971 novel. And there are many differences between goalkeepers, especially at this point in the game’s development.

The goalkeeper used to be a separate entity from the rest of the team. Now, they are far more integrated due to managers like Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp modifying their duties and asking them to play as quasi-outfield players.

About the only qualification for being a top goalkeeper is being over 6 feet in height. Beyond that, they come in all shapes, sizes and with many different dispositions. Keepers no longer have to be crazy, but it can help.

David Henderson, a former goalkeeping coach with the Republic of Ireland national team setup, has scouted for English club Aston Villa, Scottish club Hibernian and Irish club Bohemian. He lends a specialist scouting view on 11 of the best keepers in the world.

Note: All stats are updated through Dec. 2.

David de Gea, Spain

Age: 28

Current team: Manchester United

Years as a professional: 10

Club games played: 418

Clean sheets: 146

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 28 in 36 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 80.4 percent

Transfer value: €70 million ($79.4 million)

Scouting take: "That save he made against Young Boys of Berne (on Nov. 27) was him in a nutshell, clawing it back from going over the line. One versus one, he is great. His weakness is that he’s not great in a crowd of players, not too dominant, but he has something others don’t. They are not built to make the saves he does."

Bottom line: Manchester United are currently something of a fallen giant, but in David de Gea, they still have a truly world-class footballer. At 28, he approaches his peak years, and it remains to be seen how long he might stay in England.

Jan Oblak, Slovenia

Age: 25

Current team: Atletico Madrid

Years as a professional: 9

Club games played: 292

Clean sheets: 145

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 22 in 37 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 75 percent

Transfer value: €100 million ($113.4 million)

Scouting take: "He’s following in the tradition of Gianluigi Buffon. He doesn't take risks and therefore suits the Atletico team he plays for. Oblak is not a proactive goalkeeper. He is not overly quick to come out. He gives himself time to make himself big and get the stops."

Bottom line: Atletico have forged a tradition of goalkeepers that takes in David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois, and Oblak is in no way disgraced by that company. His club is among the smartest dealers in football, and his release clause is €100 million ($113.4 million) if anyone wants to buy him.

Samir Handanovic, Slovenia

Age: 34

Current team: Inter Milan

Years as a professional: 15

Club games played: 527

Clean sheets: 181

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 30 in 38 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 75.2 percent

Transfer value: €20 million ($22.7 million)

Scouting take: "He’s absolutely solid in that he is experienced and he won’t do anything silly or rash. Handanovic gives himself the room to make the saves and reads the angles well, and won’t put the ball back into danger. He won’t let you down."

Bottom line: Twice voted Serie A goalkeeper of the year, he pairs acrobatics with dependability. Inter Milan is a club that has undergone severe flux in recent years, but they always have been able to count on Handanovic.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Germany

Age: 26

Current team: Barcelona

Years as a professional: 9

Club games played: 359

Clean sheets: 142

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 28 in 37 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 77.8 percent

Transfer value: €70m ($79.4 million)

Scouting take: "The way Barcelona play, he is perfect for that. He is willing to play short passes and be part of their process and philosophy as he plays likes an outfield player. He’s a good goalkeeper, but what Barcelona want is what he does best. I have never seen him be spectacular, even with the long ball, but the best teams buy the goalkeeper that suits them."

Bottom line: Ter Stegen used to share the Barca role with Claudio Bravo, but once the Chilean was sold to Manchester City in 2016, the German took his chance. He surely will replace Manuel Neuer as Germany’s number one.

Ederson, Brazil

Age: 25

Current team: Manchester City

Years as a professional: 7

Club games played: 190

Clean sheets: 85

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 26 in 36 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 78.1 percent

Transfer value: €60 million ($68.1 million)

Scouting take: "He reads the game very well. He is dominant, prepared to go for the ball in the air because he is strong and imposing. He loves the physical side of things and his long passing is unbelievable. And City use that as a tactical ploy, by inviting opponents on to him."

Bottom line: The Brazilian with the unmissable neck tattoo helped convert Manchester City into one of the best English teams in history with the quality of his passing from the back and the safety of his goalkeeping. Ederson is brave as a lion and seemingly nerveless.

Thibaut Courtois, Belgium

Age: 26

Current team: Real Madrid

Years as a professional: 9

Club games played: 367

Clean sheets: 154

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 28 in 37 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 68.5 percent

Transfer value: €80 million ($90.8 million)

Scouting take: "He’s the best in the air by miles, dominant, prepared to go for the ball. No other goalkeeper could do what he did at the World Cup against Japan in the last minute. He went for an out-swinging corner, read it, took it, rolled it out and Belgium went up the other end to score the winner. He’s not the best distributor, he’s not a ball player, but he suited Chelsea, and he suits Real Madrid."

Bottom line: Courtois is a human tower who makes full use of his height. At Chelsea, he succeeded the great Petr Cech after making his reputation via three years on loan at Atletico. Now he is back in Madrid with Real.

Alisson, Brazil

Age: 26

Current team: Liverpool

Years as a professional: 5

Club games played: 138

Clean sheets: 59

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 28 in 37 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 79.4 percent

Transfer value: €60 million ($68.2 million)

Scouting take: "He’s agile like David de Gea but is much more confident with the ball at his feet. Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool manager) has had goalkeepers before that he didn’t seem to mind making mistakes but in buying (central defender) Virgil van Dijk, they have locked the back door. Alisson has the confidence to recover from mistakes and carries himself well."

Bottom line: Alisson advanced very fast during his two years at Roma, and in the summer of 2018, he was briefly the world’s most expensive goalkeeper until Chelsea bought Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao. Goalkeeper used to be a problem position for Liverpool, but not anymore after Alisson's arrival.

Gianluigi Buffon, Italy

Age: 40

Current team: Paris Saint-Germain

Years as a professional: 23

Club games played: 886

Clean sheets: 400

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 14 in 12 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 76.3 percent

Transfer value: €2 million ($2.3 million)

Scouting take: "He reads the game so well he motivates defenders. It’s a challenge for them not to let in goals. At his age, he knows his strengths. Weak goalkeepers can’t do the decision-making under pressure, and he has no weakness and has an unbelievable desire not to let the ball into the goal."

Bottom line: His dominance goes back to the last century when he was a teenage goalkeeper with Parma, and though these are his final years, after retiring from the Italian national team and leaving Juventus in the summer after 17 years at the club, he is one of the all-time greats.

Manuel Neuer, Germany

Age: 32

Current team: Bayern Munich

Years as a professional: 14

Club games played: 578

Clean sheets: 274

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 2 in 3 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 75 percent

Transfer value: €30 million ($34.1 million)

Scouting take: "He was ahead of everyone at the international level. He was the game changer as a ball-playing goalkeeper, him and Edwin van der Sar (former Manchester United and Netherlands player). It’s a risky game, and he can end up looking foolish as the starting positions are so high and better players are looking for him and catching him out."

Bottom line: Perhaps the peak years lie in the past. He was one of the key men in Germany’s 2014 World Cup win but has recently suffered from injury. Still, Neuer revolutionized the game as the "sweeper keeper," who was as comfortable on the ball as the defenders in front of him.

Jordan Pickford, England

Age: 24

Current team: Everton

Years as a professional: 7

Club games played: 241

Clean sheets: 72

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 58 in 38 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 67.6 percent

Transfer value: €45 million ($51.1 million)

Scouting take: "He is so confident. Let’s see how he is when he loses confidence as he is still young. The pass he made to set up a goal against Spain recently, he has such great distribution. He’s not bad at anything. He maybe could be quicker to making saves but is improving."

Bottom line: He had to wait until the eve of the World Cup to become England’s number one, but he seized his chance superbly in Russia. The North Easterner is an adept long passer and a decent shot stopper, with plenty of improvement within his reach.

Hugo Lloris, France

Age: 31

Current team: Tottenham Hotspur

Years as a professional: 13

Club games played: 547

Clean sheets: 191

Goals allowed in 2017-18: 35 in 36 league matches

Save percentage in 2017-18: 69.8 percent

Transfer value: €30 million ($34.1 million)

Scouting take: "Lloris plays very deep, keeping as much room as possible between him and his defenders to be able to give himself time to react and use his fantastic athleticism and reflexes to make a save. This is his main strength but gives him a long way to go. Once he decides to sweep up, his timing has to be perfect, and a good few times with him, it’s not been."

Bottom line: A World Cup-winning captain with France, Hugo Lloris is highly experienced after being a star of the Lyon team that was a regular in the latter stages of the Champions League. At his best, Lloris offers calm and organization but has been prone to the odd mistake. The dribbling error he made in the 2018 World Cup final that allowed Mario Mandzukic to score was the epitome of his occasional rushes of blood.