The 25 best goalkeepers in world football - ranked

Look, compiling a list of the 25 best players in any position is really difficult.

But it's a whole lot of fun and stirs debate - and that's what football's about, right?

One of the hardest to judge, weirdly, is who the best goalkeepers in the game are. It's not all about shot-stopping now, with distribution, the ability to mop up behind a high line and extreme levels of composure a key component in every keeper's game.

You also have to demonstrate consistency, week in, week out, such is the calibre of attacking players now operating around the world. Here's 90min's current top 25 deemed the best in the business - part of our Welcome to World Class series.

25. Fernando Muslera

Fernando Muslera has gone under the radar as one of the most reliable goalkeepers in the world over the years, mainly because he has spent the majority of his career in Turkey with Galatasaray.

The Uruguay stopper has frequently impressed at international tournaments with his country, for whom he is their most capped goalkeeper of all time.

24. Andriy Lunin

Thibaut Courtois' long-term injury threw open the goalkeeper spot at Real Madrid during the 2023/24 season. While Kepa Arrizabalaga initially emerged as Carlo Ancelotti's understudy, Ukraine international Andriy Lunin proved paramount to their league and Europe double.

The former Dnipro star was close to impenetrable during their glorious Champions League run, coming up with huge performances in notable wins against RB Leipzig and Manchester City, becoming a cult hero by saving two penalties in a shootout success against the latter.

23. Wojciech Szczesny

Wojciech Szczesny has been around for what feels like eternity, but there's still a number of years left in the tank of the giant Pole.

After riding many highs and lows at Arsenal, he has found a more permanent, comfortable home at Juventus, where he's been the undisputed number one since stepping through the arrival doors.

Errors and lapses in concentration do still happen, but there's plenty of top level performances for Szczesny to crow about.

22. Michele Di Gregorio

Another excellent Italian goalkeeper, Monza's Michele Di Gregorio was a product of Inter's academy.

But after failing to get an opportunity at San Siro, he knew a move was needed in order to forge his way towards the top of the game. At Monza, he's playing at a consistently high level, pointing to a return to a more reputable club at some point in the future.

Hell, he could even end up back at Inter some day.

21. Gregor Kobel

Gregor Kobel's path to the Switzerland starting team has been blocked by the presence of Yann Sommer, but the jersey will be his in the near future if he continues to impress at Borussia Dortmund.

The BVB star has cat-like reflexes, having honed his skills during previous stints with Augsburg and Stuttgart, and played a pivotal role in his club's run to the 2023/24 Champions League final.

20. Giorgi Mamardashvili

Giorgi Mamardashvili is a name which popped up quite a bit over the summer of 2023, with the goalkeeper linked with basically every club in Europe at some point.

The Georgian will eventually earn a move to a top club, but for now he's gaining plenty of good experience with Valencia, who are having a much better season than last term when they almost got relegated.

19. Marco Carnesecchi

There are a lot of good goalkeepers playing in Serie A at the moment and one of them starts every week for Atalanta. Marco Carnesecchi impressed at Cremonese before getting his move.

Atalanta are not conceding goals in the manner they used to and the Italian has established a great command of his area.

18. Nick Pope

There are few around with the sheer box presence and command of their defence like Nick Pope.

The England international isn't too hot with the ball at his feet but that matters little to Eddie Howe and the Magpies, whose qualification for the Champions League was aided tremendously by Pope's consistent performances between the sticks.

His injury in 2023/24 was a real shame but Pope should remain everyone of his talents once he starts playing more regularly again.

17. Lukas Hradecky

Lukas Hradecky has been around for a very long time and is almost synonymous with modern-day Bundesliga football, but he is in a real purple patch right now.

The Finn played a key part in Bayer Leverkusen's first-ever Bundesliga title win, keeping balls out of his net with sharp shot-stopping and his hulking 6'2 frame.

16. Guglielmo Vicario

Italian goalie Guglielmo Vicario has done things the hard way throughout his playing career but a fine season with Empoli earned him a move to Tottenham.

He has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting goalkeepers in Europe, producing some incredible saves when his team are under the cosh.

15. Jordan Pickford

Despite spending much of his Premier League career as a meme, Jordan Pickford has undergone quite the redemption arc in recent years.

He's quietly become more reliable and remains as useful as ever in possession, while he was one of the top players at Euro 2020 and would have become a national hero had that final shootout ended in an England win.

Everton have flirted with relegation from the Premier League in recent years but Pickford has consistently dragged the Toffees away from danger.

14. Unai Simon

A regular in the Spanish national team, Unai Simon is deserving of his place in the top 25 even if that error at the Euros continues to haunt him.

Two penalty saves in the Nations League final victory over Croatia endeared Simon to the Roja faithful. Athletic kept a lot of attacks at bay in the season just past in La Liga, so Simon is clearly doing his job properly.

13. Andre Onana

A year out of the game for a drugs ban was tough for Andre Onana but he quickly established himself ahead of Samir Handanovic at Inter and became one of the best goalies around.

His move to Manchester United was deserved, but the adaptation period was tough and some high-profile mistakes damaged public opinion of the Cameroonian.

Onana is finding his feet now, though, making some great reflex saves while largely cutting the errors out.

12. Yann Sommer

Yann Sommer's move to Inter didn't really raise many eyebrows, because it was Andre Onana's sale to Man Utd that grabbed the headlines.

Now in the twilight of his career, Sommer has been superb for Inter and has been a very smart pickup. He won't be a long-term option in goal, but the Nerazzurri certainly don't regret signing the Switzerland international.

11. David Raya

David Raya turned himself into one of the Premier League's top shot-stoppers and his role as a playmaker at the back led Arsenal to sign him from Brentford.

The Spain international has taken Aaron Ramsdale's place at the Emirates Stadium and while errors did dog his early days in north London, Raya looks to have settled and is now putting in fine displays.

10. Diogo Costa

A graduate of Porto's academy, Diogo Costa has been one of the most talked about goalkeepers in Europe for quite a while - and for good reason.

Costa is the archetypal modern-day goalkeeper and will surely be the number one for one of the biggest clubs in Europe very, very soon. Some penalty shootout heroics at Euro 2024 have also boosted his standing among the continent's best goalkeepers.

9. Gianluigi Donnarumma

After leaving boyhood club AC Milan for Paris Saint-Germain, Gianluigi Donnarumma's future looked to be carved out. He finally usurped Keylor Navas as PSG's undisputed starter and was a key part of the Azzurri team that won Euro 2020, being named player of the tournament.

Some poor years since including disastrous mishaps in the Champions League have seen his reputation suffer, but Donnarumma still starts for PSG and Italy and deserves respect for it.

8. Jan Oblak

There are times watching five-time Zamora Trophy winner Jan Oblak when you might genuinely believe he has the power to attract the ball towards his hands. It's like his gloves have their own gravitational pull.

He did experience something of a dip in form during the 2022/23 campaign but is back to his best these days.

7. Manuel Neuer

Manuel Neuer played a big role in the reinvention of the modern goalkeeper and remains one of the very best sweeper-keepers in the business today.

He's only got a few years left and a skiing injury saw him ruled out of the end of the 2022/23 season and much of 2023/24. It's clear his powers will only wane from this point rather than grow, but he remains one of the best around for now.

6. Emiliano Martinez

What a rise it's been for Emiliano Martinez.

The Argentinian moved to Aston Villa after a few months in the spotlight at Arsenal and has since proven he's really, really bloody good.

So good, in fact, that he's become Argentina's number one, played a big role in their World Cup and Copa America triumphs and earned Lionel Messi's respect with his s***house antics.

He has remained as Villa's first choice and is a consistent performer and entertainer.

5. Mike Maignan

AC Milan had a huge goalkeeper-shaped hole to fill when Donnarumma departed, but since Mike Maignan rocked up to San Siro the Rossoneri have looked as solid as ever.

The France international is now widely renowned as the best goalkeeper in Serie A and his stock has risen worldwide as a result. Considering how frequently Milan's defenders have been injured over the past year or so, Maignan has done well to maintain his level.

4. Marc-Andre ter Stegen

Razor-sharp reflexes, wrists like steel, distribution like Andrea Pirlo and a really cool name. These are just a few of the things that make Marc-Andre ter Stegen one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

The German took home the 2022/23 Zamora Trophy, but like Courtois he missed a lot of the 2023/24 campaign through injury as Barcelona's title defence fell apart.

3. Ederson

When Pep Guardiola made a cheeky remark about Ederson being the best penalty taker at Manchester City everyone believed him - such is the technical ability of the Brazilian stopper.

2022/23 saw the Brazilian rise to the occasion in the Champions League, making heroic stops against Real Madrid and Inter as City won the tournament for the first time ever.

He has carried that form into 2023/24 and is very close to a Brazil teammate for top spot.

2. Thibaut Courtois

After a shaky opening at Real Madrid, Thibaut Courtois has been in exemplary form to convince any remaining doubters of his ability.

Courtois' long limbs and excellent shot-stopping ability have saved Los Blancos on a fair few occasions in recent seasons - including the 2021 Champions League final - and he also scooped the Zamora Trophy in 2020.

The Belgian has effectively been out for the entire 2023/24 season after tearing his ACL but deserves his high ranking as he can rival anyone when fit.

1. Alisson Becker

When Liverpool spent nearly £70m on Alisson back in 2018, social media was awash with jibes from rival fans questioning the size of the fee. But they're not laughing now.

The Brazilian has proved to be a game-changing upgrade on Loris Karius at Anfield, perfectly straddling the attributes of both a sweeper-keeper and traditional stopper.

He's also played his part in Liverpool becoming Premier League, European and world champions in recent seasons.

READ MORE ON THE BEST 25 PLAYERS FOR EVERY POSITION IN WORLD FOOTBALL