For a team to stand any chance of prolonged success, they need a reliable goalkeeper in between the sticks. There’s a ceiling on the heights a team can reach if they aren’t protected at the back by an elite shot-stopper. Adding one to your side can transform it from teetering contender to championship dynasty, as we’ve seen in the past, with the likes of Alisson Becker and Ederson taking Liverpool and Manchester City respectively to levels of success they wouldn’t have reached without them.

Due to the advancement in modern-day football, goalkeepers have to be able to perform a variety of roles. Firstly, they must be world-class shotstoppers, which is the bread and butter of being a ‘keeper. This must lead to a trusted partnership with the defence. Meanwhile, they are required to be capable of distributing the ball quickly and effectively. Manuel Neuer changed the future of goalkeeping when he acted as a sweeper-keeper – and now it is very common.

Finding an elite number one can be difficult, though, with there being a very select group of truly exceptional goalies in the world right now. Here are the very best around.

Ranking factors

The factors taken into consideration are as follows:

• Clean sheets – How many clean sheets they’ve registered is a strong indicator of their quality. But it’s important to remember some teams have stronger defences than others.
• Importance to their club – If they are consistently making world-class saves and helping their team every minute, they will be ranked highly, even if they’re not at the biggest clubs.
• International records – Performances for their national teams go alongside the success with their clubs, making them well-rounded.
• Distribution – As part of modern-day football, goalkeepers must be capable of starting attacks with precision passing.
• Shot-stopping – As the bread and butter of being a goalkeeper, they must be capable of making world-class saves regularly.

20

Senne Lammens

Manchester United

In the two years since David De Gea’s departure from Manchester United, the Spaniard’s successors – Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana – made the goalkeeping position the most complicated and difficult job in the world. But now after putting their faith in the very much underrated Senne Lammens, the club have quickly been reminded of the beauty in simple-yet-effective styles.

He may not take as many risks as other goalkeepers, nor may he make the camera saves that earns his peers so many plaudits. But Lammens has proven to be a reliable presence early into his Old Trafford tenure, and the fact not many people are talking about him is only a good thing after 24 months of constant chatter around the United goalkeeping department.

19

Vanja Milinkovic-Savic

Napoli

Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, the towering 28-year-old Serbian goalkeeper on loan at Napoli from Torino for the 2025/26 season, has quickly established himself as a commanding presence between the posts, leveraging his 6’8″ frame to great effect in Serie A as Roberto De Zerbi’s side sit top after 10 games.

While only currently a loan ‘keeper, his contributions to the league’s fourth-best defensive record of shipping just eight goals so far could see the hierarchy pay the conditional £18 million it would take to make him a long-term option. That said, Alex Meret may have one or two things to say about that.

18

Robin Roefs

Sunderland

Robin Roefs, the 22-year-old Dutch goalkeeper who joined Sunderland from NEC Nijmegen for £9 million over the summer, has emerged as a revelation in the Premier League during the 2025/26 season, anchoring the newly promoted Black Cats’ surprisingly stout defense. In just 10 appearances, he’s secured an impressive four clean sheets – a 40% success rate that ranks second league-wide behind only Arsenal’s David Raya and Newcastle’s Nick Pope – while conceding just eight goals from 40 shots faced.

His 81% save percentage, the second-highest among top-flight keepers after facing the seventh-most efforts on target, has been pivotal in Sunderland’s top-five defensive record, earning him consistent ratings and positioning him as a cornerstone for their unlikely push up the table.

17

Michele Di Gregorio

Juventus

A product of Inter Milan’s fabled academy, Michele Di Gregorio has made a name for himself in Turin – and is now expected to be one of the biggest names in the goalkeeping space for years to come. He was brilliant at Monza and, thus, caught the eye of Thiago Motta’s Juventus in the summer of 2024.

Motta is no longer in charge, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the goalkeeper’s displays thus far will mean that he’ll be the Old Lady’s choice going forward. Still uncapped by the Italian national team, the Milan-born ace has kept 22 clean sheets in 59 outings in all competitions for Juventus in his career. At the time of writing, he has 41 in 112 Serie A appearances alone.

16

Giorgi Mamardashvili

Liverpool

Giorgi Mamardashvili was one of the standout performers at Euro 2024, with the man-mountain continually keeping underdogs Georgia in games as they pulled off the remarkable feat of reaching the knockout rounds. His imposing presence between the posts was enough to strike fear into even the greatest forwards around.

Cristiano Ronaldo and a talented Portugal side were unable to find a way past the star as the Georgians found a way out of the group stage. Mamardashvili’s heroics two summers ago convinced Liverpool to splash the cash and sign him and while he was immediately loaned back to Valencia for the 2024/25 campaign, he now fills in nicely as Caoimhin Kelleher’s like-for-like replacement ahead of the 2025/26 campaign. It means the Reds, who won the Premier League last time out, boast owning two goalkeepers among the best in the world at what they do – a ridiculous case of having an embarrassment of riches after the Georgian recently claimed back-to-bakc clean sheets against Aston Villa and Real Madrid.

15

Lucas Chevalier

Paris Saint-Germain

Widely regarded as one of the highest-rated goalkeepers in Europe, Lucas Chevalier has shot onto the radar of clubs from all corners of the continent following his breakthrough campaign in 2024/25. He has every chance of rising up this list should he continue on his current trajectory after it was Champions League winners PSG who snapped him up and shifted Gianluigi Donnarumma out to make room for him.

Without a doubt, the young Frenchman is far from the finished article, but his early numbers perhaps suggest that the 23-year-old could be the perfect successor for Mike Maignan on the international stage. Whether he’ll be able to live up to expectations, however, remains to be seen.

14

Diogo Costa

Porto

Agile in the air and accurate with the ball at his feet, it’s easy to see why Diogo Costa is the young star of modern goalkeeping. Porto’s number one – who dons the number 99 like his idol, Vitor Baia – has earned plenty of admirers from across the continent.

The two-time Portuguese title-winner has prevented more goals than expected based on the quality and quantity of shots faced in all three of his full seasons with the first team. Porto wisely tied Costa down to a contract which extends until 2027. The most recent example of his brilliance came is that no goalkeeper has conceded fewer goals in Portugal last season than the nation’s number one.

13

Mile Svilar

AS Roma

Roma’s undisputed No. 1, Mile Svilar, remains a relative novice for a goalkeeper – yet, at just 26 years old, he’s already making huge waves. Last season, he featured in 38 Serie A matches, conceding 35 goals, keeping 16 clean sheets, and notching 118 saves – a phenomenal record that earned him the Best Goalkeeper award for the 2024/25 season.

Svilar also ended the campaign with the best save percentage in Serie A at 77%, matched only by the tally of clean sheets held by Napoli’s Alex Meret. He was overwhelmingly voted Player of the Season by his supporters, drawing 86% of the vote – more than double the share received by the previous year’s winner.

12

Gregor Kobel

Borussia Dortmund

Despite the best intentions of his father, who was a professional ice hockey forward, Gregor Kobel followed his dream of becoming a football goalkeeper. It may have “made no sense” to Kobel senior, but Borussia Dortmund will be mightily grateful that the towering Swiss custodian donned a pair of gloves rather than skates.

The 27-year-old shot-stopper prevented seven goals more than expected based on the shots he faced in his side’s run to the Champions League final in the 2023/24 campaign, comfortably the highest tally of any goalkeeper in the competition, and his impressive form is now just part and parcel of his imperious quality two seasons on.

11

Unai Simon

Athletic Club

Upholding the long-standing tradition of excellent Basque goalkeepers, Unai Simon has been Spain’s number one since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a modest stature in the lofty realm of ‘keepers, Simon boasts sharp shot-stopping abilities, while his greatest strength lies with the ball at his feet.

Unexpectedly promoted from Athletic Club’s fourth-choice all the way to the starting spot almost overnight following the sale of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Simon has emerged as a modern example of an ideal goalkeeper. The 27-year-old is not immune to errors – which player is? But he was consistent enough to help Spain to the European Championship. A wrist injury kept him out for a large part of the 2024/25 season, which harmed his positioning, but he quickly re-established himself in Athletic Bilbao’s starting lineup upon his return to keep 12 clean sheets across his last 32 La Liga outings.