The forwards, who find the skill of scoring goals easy, usually make the headlines in football. Consider the abundance of accolades bestowed upon two of the greatest football players of all time, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It is unrelenting!
On the other hand, goalkeepers are frequently overlooked. The only custodian to have won the Ballon d’Or, the most coveted individual award available, is none other than the legendary Lev Yashin.
Gianluigi Buffon, Iker Casillas, and Manuel Neuer are just a few of the elite goalkeepers who have graced the beautiful game. However, how are the top 50 goalkeepers in contemporary football ranked?
All goalkeepers have been ranked on a scale of 0-100, which was specifically created by the CIES Football Observatory, based on the sporting level of matches, the game’s outcome, and the variation in the percentage of saves.
50–41
Bento Krepski, a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo, begins the top 50
Bento Krepski, who enjoys playing beside the aforementioned Ronaldo every week, gets things started. Krepski is responsible for keeping Al-Nassr out at the other end, even though the Portuguese talisman is predicted to score a tonne of goals for the team.
Dani Jimenez of Huesca SD and Khalifa N’Diaye of Al-Gharafa are ranked 48th and 49th, respectively. With more than 50 games played for FC Kaiserslautern, Forst-born Julian Krahl is ranked lower than Kristijan Kahlina and Jakub Lapes.
Even though Lapes, 25, and Kahlina, 32, have had difficulty making an impression in football circles, they still deserve to be on our list, which was inspired by Football Observatory. For their respective clubs, both are the official go-to goalkeepers.
Although they earn their corn all over the world, Dominik Takac, Slawomir Abramowicz, Senne Lammens, and Georgiy Bushchan finish this category ahead of players like Antonin Kinsky (68.9) and Alphonse Areola (66.3).
50–41
Place
Goalie
Club + Nation
Index
50.
Krepski, Bento
Brazil + Al-Nassr
71.5
49.
N’Diaye Khalifa
Qatar + Al-Gharafa
71.6
48.
Jiménez, Dani
Spain + Huesca, SD
71.9
47.
Krahl, Julian
Germany + FC Kaiserslautern
72.1
46.
Lapeš, Jakub
MFK Czech Republic + Karvina
72.4
45.
Kahlina Kristijan
Croatia + Charlotte FC
72.6
44.
Takáč Dominik
SK Slovakia plus Bratislava and Slovan
72.6
43.
Abramowicz Slawomir
Bialystok, Jagiellonia + Poland
72.6
42.
Lammens, Senne
Belgium + Royal Antwerp
73.5
41.
Bushchan Georgiy
Ukraine + Al-Shabab
73.6
40–31
Somehow, Alisson Becker of Brazil and Liverpool is ranked 33rd.
Despite his lack of international experience, Washington Aguerre, who has played for Independiente Medellin in Colombia’s top division since the winter transfer window, is ranked 40th, ahead of Kevin Trapp and Alexander Dominguez.
Vanja Milinković-Savić, the brother of Al-Hilal player Sergej, stands out in Torino’s goalmouth mostly because of his impressive appearance. He is ranked 35th, only behind Austria Wien’s Samuel Radlinger, and is also Serbia’s first choice.
Due to his natural ability to stop shots, Alisson Becker is unquestionably one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League’s lengthy and illustrious history. However, he is now placed 33rd with an index of 75.1.
Colin Coosemans of RSC Anderlecht and Hernan Galindez of CA Huracan are in front of the Brazilian. The former, who has made ten appearances for Belgium’s Under-21 team, has an index score of 75.3, while the latter has a score of 75.4.
40–31
Place
Goalie
Club + Nation
Index
40.
Aguerre, Washington
Uruguay + Independiente Medellin
73.8
39.
Trapp, Kevin
Germany + Frankfurt Eintracht
73.8
38.
Domínguez, Alexander
Ecuador + LDU Quito
74.0
37.
Majecki Radoslaw
AS Poland + Monaco
74.4
36.
Volpi Tiago
Brazil + Gremio
74.6
35.
Milinković-Savić Vanja
Serbia plus Torino
74.8
34.
Radlinger, Samuel
Wien, Austria + Austria
74.9
33.
Becker, Alisson
Brazil + Liverpool
75.1
32.
Galíndez, Hernán
Huracan, CA + Argentina
75.3
31.
Coosemans, Colin
Belgium + Anderlecht RSC
75.4
Burnley and James Trafford of England in 27th place, 30–21
It is no small accomplishment to be ranked as the 30th greatest goalie, and Kayne van Oevelen takes pride in this accomplishment. However, Hugo Souza of Corinthians (76.3) and Augusto Batalla of Rayo Vallecano (75.5) both had higher indexes than his 75.5.
It’s possible that James Trafford, who has remained steadfast between Burnley’s goalposts all season, feels unfairly treated. The 22-year-old Englishman is vying for Everton’s Jordan Pickford as England’s top target, according to Thomas Tuchel.
Mile Svilar is the main choice for AS Roma in Italy and has made just under 100 appearances for the team. However, most people will remember him for his terrible performance against Manchester United in the Champions League during the 2017–18 season. His ranking is 24th.
This category is completed by Marcin Bulka, Horatiu Moldovan of US Sassuolo, a Romanian custodian with 12 caps, and Predrag Rajkovic of Al-Ittihad, who relishes playing with players like Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante in the Saudi Pro League.
30–21
Place
Goalie
Club + Nation
Index
30.
Van Oevelen, Kayne
Netherlands + FC Volendam
75.5
29.
Batalla, Augusto
Argentina + Rayo Vallecano
76.2
28.
Souza, Hugo
Brazil + Corinthians
76.3
27.
Trafford, James
England + Burnley
78.2
26.
Hitz, Marwin
Switzerland + FC Basel
78.3
25.
Victor John
Brazil + RJ Botafogo
78.8
24.
Svilar, Mile
AS Roma + Serbia
78.8
23.
Rajković Predrag
Serbia plus Al-Ittihad
79.8
22.
Moldovan Horaţiu
Romania + Sassuolo, USA
79.8
21.
Bulka Marcin
OGC Poland + Nice
79.9
Kepa Arrizabalaga and Djordje Petrovic, two Chelsea loanees, are featured in 20-11
Lucas Perri of Olympique Lyonnais, who has been instrumental in his team’s Europa League run, was given a score of 81.6 along with Pasveer, but he lost to Russia’s Evgeniy Latyshonok of Zenit, who finished in 12th place.
Djordje Petrovic, a Chelsea loanee who has been playing well during his brief stay in France with Strasbourg, is unfortunate to not make the top ten. It’s unclear if he will move back to west London and claim the top spot come summertime.
20-11
Place
Goalie
Club + Nation
Index
20.
Muslera Fernando
Argentina + Galatasaray
80.1
19.
Schmeichel, Kasper
Denmark + Celtic
80.6
18.
Pereira Weverton
Brazil + SE Palmeiras
80.6
17.
Arrizabalaga Kepa
Spain plus Bournemouth
80.8
16.
Roef, Davy
Belgium + KAA Gent
80.9
15.
McCarthy, John
USMNT + LA Galaxy
81.2
14.
Pasveer Remko
Netherlands + Ajax
81.6
13.
Perri, Lucas
Brazil + Lyonnais Olympic Games
81.6
12.
Latyshonok, Eugeniy
Russia + FK Zenit
81.7
11.
Petrovic Djordje
Serbia + RC Strasbourg
82.1
10-1 Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois loses out on first place
Robin Zentner, the glove-bearer-in-chief for FSV Mainz and a former Germany U17 international who has played his whole career in his native country, kicks off the top 10 of the world’s best goalkeepers.
Joao Ricardo of Fortaleza EC and Moritz Nicolas of Borussia Monchengladbach are in his wake. Peter Gulacsi, a more well-known goalie who plays for RB Leipzig, is in seventh place with an index of 83.9.
When Chelsea was in need in the summer of 2023, they bought Robert Sanchez, one of the tallest players in the Premier League at the moment. However, the transfer hasn’t exactly worked out. In any case, he is in sixth place.
Brentford’s Mark Flekken comes in second with an index of 85.9, and two of the best goalkeepers in global football, Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid and Yann Sommer of Inter Milan, win bronze and silver, respectively.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, who started his career in 2016 as one of the top 10 wonderkids in international football, has won the gold medal here despite previous criticism. The Italian, the starting number one for Paris Saint-Germain, is a formidable and experienced goalie.
50–41
Place
Goalie
Club + Nation
Index
10.
Zentner, Robin
Germany FSV Mainz 05 +
82.2
9.
Nicolas Moritz
Germany + Borussia Monchengladbach
83.3
8.
Ricardo Joao
Brazil + EC Fortaleza
83.7
7.
Gulacsi, Peter
Hungary + RB Leipzig
83.9
6.
Sanchez, Robert
Spain + Chelsea
84.1
5.
Flekken, Mark
Netherlands + Brentford
85.9
4.
Agkatsev Stanislav
Russia plus FK Krasnodar
87.4
3.
Courtois, Thibaut
Belgium + Real Madrid
88.0
2.
Sommer Yann
Switzerland + Inter Milan
91.7
1.
Diane Rumma Gianluigi
Italy + Paris Saint-Germain
95.5
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