The most expensive goalkeepers of all time as Manchester City close in on Ederson

Sport360 staff 18:52 29/05/2017
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  • Manchester City have been strongly linked with a deal for Benfica’s Ederson Moraes which would make the Brazilian the most expensive goalkeeper in the world.

    The 23-year-old is expected to succeed Claudio Bravo as manager Pep Guardiola’s first-choice, but as the £15.4million spent recruiting the Chilean again demonstrates, a sizeable fee and reputation do not guarantee success.

    Here, we assess the world’s five most expensive goalkeepers to date.

    1. Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus in 2001, £32.6million

    The Italian was considered an expensive upgrade on the similarly-great Edwin van der Sar when, aged 23, he left Parma, but 16 years later he remains an authoritative, consistent presence and Italy’s first-choice.

    In an era when there has been significant competition from Iker Casillas, Petr Cech and others, Buffon will likely be remembered as the greatest goalkeeper of his time.

    He could also later this week add a Champions League medal to the numerous domestic honours and World Cup has has so far won – having remained loyal to Juve when they were relegated in 2006 amid the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.

    2. Manuel Neuer, Schalke to Bayern Munich in 2011, £19million

    If Buffon was the greatest goalkeeper of his generation, Germany’s 31-year-old Neuer is arguably the greatest of this.

    At a time when admiration for so-called ‘sweeper-keepers’ has significantly grown, he is also considered the finest example of a composed goalkeeper capable of playing the ball.

    Neuer’s form has been so exceptional that even Spain’s Pepe Reina proved incapable of dislodging him at Bayern, where he won the Champions League a year before helping Germany to victory at the 2014 World Cup.

    3. David De Gea, Atletico Madrid to Manchester United in 2011, £18.9million

    The then 20-year-old was considered Europe’s most promising goalkeeper when he joined United to succeed the retired Van der Sar.

    After struggling in his first 18 months in England, and perhaps more relevantly at United, where so many competent goalkeepers have under-performed, he began to demonstrate why.

    They have since won the Premier League title, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League, while De Gea has replaced Iker Casillas with Spain. Reports persist, however, that this summer he could leave United to join Real Madrid.

    4. Claudio Bravo, Barcelona to Manchester City in 2016, £15.4million

    Chile’s Bravo was established among Europe’s leading goalkeepers – owing to his success in replacing Victor Valdes at Barcelona, where he helped them win the treble – when last summer he succeeded Joe Hart at Manchester City.

    His superior footballing ability meant City considered him an upgrade on the long-serving and successful Hart, but he played with such a lack of conviction – albeit behind an uncertain defence – that by the end of the past season he had lost his first-team place to the recently-released Willy Caballero.

    5. Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio in 2000, £13million

    It is perhaps only in a nation like Italy, long considered to produce the world’s finest goalkeepers, that Peruzzi would not widely be seen as a true great. In the 1990s, he vied with Gianluca Pagliuca to be Italy’s goalkeeper; in the noughties it was Gianluigi Buffon and Francesco Toldo.

    He started for the Juventus team that won the 1996 Champions League and reached the following two finals, and was in the Italy squad that won the World Cup in 2006. Peruzzi eventually retired, aged 37, in 2007, having justified what was considered Lazio’s big outlay from seven years earlier.

    Provided by Press Association Sport

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