Ranking the 10 Best Goalkeepers in the World: 2023 Edition

Last on the list of the best goalkeepers in the world 2023 is Samir Handanovic. The inter Milano shot-stopper is a world-class goalkeeper and while he scarcely gets the praise he deserves since his move away from Udinese in 2012.

He has consistently shown why he should get the sting of being among the elite in the world of football and the Slovenian has quietly gone about establishing himself as Europe’s top goalkeepers if not the world while establishing his remark in the rank of the great Toldo in the realm of Inter Millan goalkeeper legend.

The tall, calm, excellent communicator and superb within the air, Handanovic is an old-fashioned sort of goalkeeper, who places stress on defending above distribution and ball playing and sweeping prowess. But his higher save percentage in Serie A has ensured that Inter Millan campaign is far more relevant despite the team’s dip in form.

Peter Gulacsi may be a relatively unknown goalkeeper who plies his trade for RB Leipzig.

He has all the required attributes of a top keeper and is also the current captain of the German club.

His reflexes and winning mentality are key factors behind his rise and his ball-playing ability has also helped his club.

The current Chelsea goalkeeper has proven to be one of the fittest goalkeepers in the world.

Édouard Mendy has changed the face of Chelsea. After a few years of searching for the perfect substitute for Courtois at Stamford Bridge, the sports management signed an experienced Senegalese goalkeeper who, little by little, showed all his talent within the big events.

Currently, Mendy has become the primary African to lift the UEFA Champions League and, together with his decisive saves, has contributed enormously to Thomas Tuchel’s project. In the 2020/2021 Premier League, Mendy managed to concede just 25 goals in 31 games. additionally, he accumulated 16 clean sheets and averaged 57 saves.

A team that’s competing in the race for a Champions League spot, conceding only 21 goals in 38 games is sort of amazing. What was the extent of Mike Maignan? Let’s take a look at his stats.

His save rate of 79.4% is the highest of all goalkeepers with at least 20 league appearances this season. The clean sheets percentage at 21% is the highest of goalkeepers who have played over 20 games within the same period.

AC Milan’s prodigal son Gigi Donnarumma left the San Siro this summer to hitch the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Jr at Paris Saint-Germain, but not before guiding the Rossoneri to their first Champions League qualification in seven years and starring in Italy’s Euros triumph in July 2021.

Donnarumma may be a generational talent and has already displayed his shot-stopping heroics over the years, especially last year, particularly in Italy’s penalty-shootout victories within the semifinal and final.

Despite being a standard shot-stopper, Donnarumma in recent seasons has developed his ball-playing abilities also, partly thanks to Roberto Mancini’s philosophy within the Italian national team.

However, be it Stefano Pioli at AC Milan or Mauricio Pochettino at PSG, both wish to play out from the back while maintaining a relatively high backline for their respective possession-based styles of play.

Currently 36 years old, Manuel Neuer remains the first choice Goalkeeper of FC Bayern Munich and the German national team, a spot which he has held for years without being displaced by anybody thanks to his incredible form which has earned him numerous recognitions and most notably being the only Goalkeeper in recent times to finish Top 3 in the Ballon D’or ranking and being awarded by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) as the best Goalkeeper in the world for the past decade (2011 – 2021).

In the year 2022, he still hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down and remains invariably the best Goalkeeper in the world.

Impressively, aside from his incredible ball handling and saving skills, Neuer has invented a ball-playing trend amongst Goalkeepers as he’s a perfectionist in making saves by coming off his line, playing the ball sort of a Midfielder and being so confident in goal. Thus, making him not only the simplest but the foremost fearless Goalkeeper in the world.

Recency bias could also be in play, as Courtois was an absolute rock for Los Blancos last season, but the Belgian deserves such a positive ranking.

In 13 Champions League matches for Real in 21-22, the Belgian keeper prevented 5.1 more goals than expected — an almost unheard-of rate.

He has been equally staunch domestically, allowing 0.71 goals per game in LaLiga over the last three seasons.

Courtois’ save against Neymar in 2018 may be a moment that will go down in World Cup lore, and therefore the Belgian will add to his international legacy in Qatar.

Ederson Santana de Moraes may be a Brazilian soccer player. He’s best known for playing as a goalkeeper. The goalkeeper plays within the Premier League with Manchester City as their first-choice keeper. Known for keeping clean sheets and making exceptional saves, he was awarded the Golden Glove for being the best goalkeeper within the 2019–20 Premier League season.

He is a strong defensive organizer. Has good reflexes. Is great at distributing balls to the midfield. he’s a leader that is known for his calmness on the field, with leadership skills and a capability to organize in the back.

His save percentage is about 0.7% better than the other goalkeeper in the top five European leagues. While his 174 clean sheets from 364 appearances rank him first in Europe’s top five leagues. What’s more, Ederson has saved 75% of non-penalty shots on target—the best in the world by far.

Jan Oblak, the Slovenian international and Atletico Madrid shot-stopper had 38 saves and saved 18 goals, good for 80% of the shots that he faced during a year.

Additionally, he saved 25 goals preventing him from conceding 31.8 expected goals. With this sort of performance, one could tell that Jan Oblak may be a top-notch goalkeeper bearing reflexes.

 He’s ranked among the greatest keepers ever because of his unique skills, where he’s always ready to make a save.

 Additionally, he has notable strong hands, long arms, and great reflexes, and he doesn’t get distracted easily.

Liverpool were electric on all fronts across the 2021/22 campaign and Alisson was the bedrock on which a four-way title assault was built.

The Brazilian was the hero in the FA Cup final shootout victory over Chelsea and boasted the lowest goals against per 90 (0.67) within the Premier League last season.

Alisson is sensational together with his feet, great within the air and always ready when called upon.

Dubbed “the best within the world” by manager Jurgen Klopp earlier in the season, it’s hard to argue thereupon assessment.

Conclusion on Best Goalkeepers in the World 2023

Football and especially goalkeeping has become extremely competitive these days, and so deciding who the best goalkeepers in the world are will always be subjective, thus open to opinions and debates.

This article was updated 1 month ago