Having an excellent goalkeeper between the sticks can be pivotal to winning trophies; Argentinians and Liverpool fans can testify to that. Goalkeepers Thibaut Courtois and Petr Cech were instrumental in their sides winning the Champions League in 2022 and 2012 respectively.
Courtois made many crucial saves to keep Real Madrid in the game in the Champions League final of 2022 and was later awarded man of the match; that’s how important he was. Petr Cech made a crucial penalty save in normal time to keep Chelsea in the game allowing for an equalizer that would push the match to penalties where his saves would be the difference; winning Chelsea their first Champions League trophy back in 2012.
Any team interested in winning trophies must have an excellent goalkeeper. Modern keepers are now judged by their ball-playing ability in addition to their shot-stopping prowess. A good goalkeeper in modern football is expected to be good with his hands and feet.
So, we made a list of the top ten best goal-keepers in modern football based on clean sheets kept, saves, passing, and importance to their club and national teams.
10. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
Neuer is at the bottom of this list because of the injury he suffered recently that kept him out for quite a while. We didn’t see him play enough to be ranked higher on this list but we all know that a fully fit Neuer is arguably the best goalkeeper on the planet.
The man revolutionized the idea of a sweeper keeper and has always come clutch for both his club, Bayern Munich, and Germany. This is why even at 38 years of age, he is still Germany and Bayern’s no. 1.
Neuer has kept nine clean sheets while conceding 26 goals in 23 matches. He has a 66% save percentage and completed 21.18 passes per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga.
9. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak is undeniably one of the best keepers in the world. He wasn’t at his best in the 22/23 season but the Slovenian international has been instrumental to Atletico Madrid’s success over the years and has looked unscorable sometimes.
He has won the La Liga Zamora trophy five times, a testament to his longevity as an excellent goalkeeper.
Oblak has a 72% save percentage in La Liga and has kept nine clean sheets, conceding 28 goals in 28 games in La Liga. He completed 70% of his total 608 passes so far giving him a 15.21% pass per 90 minutes.
As evident from his gameplay, he is more of a shot-stopper than a passer; a more traditional goalkeeper whose focus is keeping the ball out of his net.
8. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Emi Martinez established himself as a world-class keeper by his international performances, with his 2022 World Cup performance sealing the deal.
He was instrumental in Argentina winning the World Cup and made crucial saves in the final vs France most famously the save to deny Randal Kolo Muani in the 123rd minute of the final. This save helped push the match to penalties which Argentina later won.
Club-wise, the Aston Villa goalkeeper has kept six clean sheets in 27 appearances while conceding 40 goals. He has 36.48 passes per match and 130 accurate long balls.
He has a 65% save percentage and completes 81% of his total 982 passes so far at 36.37 passes per 90 minutes.
7. Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham)
Tottenham goalkeeper Vicario replaced Hugo Lloris from Empoli in the summer of 2023. He has had a great start to the Premier League displaying excellent shot-stopping and ball-playing abilities. He has six clean sheets and 36.37 passes per match in 27 appearances.
6. Yann Sommer (Inter Milan)
Inter Milan brought in Yan Sommer from Bayern Munich to replace Onana, following the exit of Andre Onana to Manchester United in the summer, and since then has proven himself as one of the best goalkeepers in modern football.
While his footwork and passing are not as great as Onana’s, the Swiss goalkeeper is an excellent shot-stopper who has kept 17 clean sheets only conceding 13 goals in 27 Serie A games. He also has an 82% save percentage per 90 minutes in Serie A. He has completed 28% of passes per 90 minutes in the Serie A.
5. Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
AC Milan goalkeeper, Mike Maignan has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers of the modern era. Since joining AC Milan from Lille he has been solid at the back most notably in his first season when he won the best goalkeeper award with 17 clean sheets to help AC Milan win the Serie A.
Currently, he has kept 10 clean sheets, assisted one goal, and made 71 saves in 25 Serie A games for AC Milan.
4. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
The PSG goalkeeper has proven himself to be one of the best goalkeepers of his generation. His contribution helped AC Milan secure a second-place finish in the 20/21 Serie A.
That season, he won the Serie A Best Goalkeeper award, IFFHS World Best Goalkeeper, and the Yashin trophy. He moved to Ligue 1 side PSG on a free transfer in June 2021, after six years with the Italian giants and since his debut in France, he has only solidified his spot as one of the World’s best goalkeepers.
He has kept 10 clean sheets in 21 games, 26.95 passes per 90 minutes, and an 81% save percentage per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 saving 67 of the 83 shots he has faced.
3. Ederson Moraes (Manchester City)
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson is best known for his ability to play out from the back and ping long balls to teammates on the pitch. His goalkeeping abilities are excellent as well as he has won the Premier League Golden Glove three times.
He has kept eight clean sheets, made 40 saves, and has an average of 33.84 passes per match in 27 Premier League games so far this season.
2. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona)
One thing that has been consistent through Barcelona’s ups and downs since the exit of Messi in 2021 is Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s brilliant performance in goal.
His exceptional performance in the 2022/2023 season won him a Zamora trophy and helped Barcelona win the League. His sharp reflexes and ball-playing ability are vital to the club.
The only reason the German goalkeeper doesn’t start for his country is the existence of Manuel Neuer. MATS remains a top keeper this season as he has kept nine clean sheets in 18 La Liga games.
He has a 73% save percentage as he has saved 46 of the 63 shots he has faced and averages 36 passes per 90 minutes so far in the 23/24 La Liga.
1. Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
Alisson joined Liverpool after their Champions League disappointment in 2018 to replace Loris Karius whose error in the final contributed to their loss to Real Madrid.
Since then, the Brazilian has proven to be one of the best keepers of this era with his performance for his club in the Premier League and the European Leagues as well as his performance in the Brazilian national team where he starts over Man City’s Ederson.
He has kept seven clean sheets, made 58 saves, and averaged 38 passes per match in 21 matches so far in the Premier League.
Honourable mentions are Thibaut Courtois who was excluded from this list due to his injury and Arsenal’s David Raya.
Do you agree with this list? Who did we miss out and who would you add?