The inflation that has hit the world of now affects all clubs, large and small, rich and poor alike. But where money used to be spent trying to recruit attacking players capable of winning games, it is increasingly diverted towards their defensive counterparts. After years of being overlooked, the match-winning value of goalkeepers is finally being reflected in the transfer market.
The largest sum paid for a shot-stopper was not surpassed for 17 years until it was shattered twice in the same summer of 2018. The recent flux of lucrative acquisitions has been littered with flops and fan favourites, underscoring the enduring unpredictability of football's transfer market. Here's a closer look at the most expensive goalkeepers of all time and how they coped with their hefty price tag.
Most Expensive Goalkeepers in Football History 1 Kepa Arrizabalaga Athletic Club Chelsea 2018 £67.2m 2 Alisson Becker AS Roma Liverpool 2018 £52.5m 3 Gianluigi Buffon Parma Juventus 2001 £44.
4m 4 Andre Onana Inter Milan Manchester United 2023 £42.2m 5 Ederson SL Benfica Manchester City 2017 £33.6m 6 Jasper Cillessen Barcelona Valencia 2019 £29.
4m 7 Thibaut Courtois Chelsea Real Madrid 2018 £29.4m 8 David Raya Brentford Arsenal 2024 £26.8m 9 Manuel Neuer Schalke 04 Bayern Munich 2011 £25.
2m 10 Jordan Pickford Sunderland Everton 2017 £24m 11 Aaron Ramsdale Sheffield United Arsenal 2021 £23.5m All transfer fees have been converted from euros to pounds. When signed for in 2021, it was no exaggeration to say that the England goalkeeper was coming off a miserable season.
Despite making all 38 appearances for , the Stoke native was unable to prevent the Blades from finishing rock bottom and dropping into the second tier. It was the second relegation Ramsdale had suffered in as many seasons after tumbling out of the top flight with Bournemouth. However, his personal record was far from poor.
Ramsdale boasted a 71% save rate - better than Manchester United's David de Gea - and recorded the second-most stops in the division. Those battling performances convinced the Gunners to invest £23.5m to acquire his services.
Arsenal have had some unbelievable shot-stoppers over the years. Rarely, if ever, invited into the discussion about the best goalkeeper in the world, is nonetheless an exceptional custodian. The enigmatic England international has been voted 's Player of the Season in four of his first seven seasons at a club locked in a perennial relegation battle.
The former player continues to justify the £24m invested in him by Everton in 2017. The most expensive England goalkeeper of all time has established himself as one of the best in his position in the country's history, elbowing Joe Hart out of the Three Lions first team ahead of the 2018 World Cup. Regarded by many as the , Manuel Neuer no longer needs any introduction.
Initially unloved following his controversial move from Schalke 04 to in 2011, the German has captured almost every major trophy in his long career. The winner of one , two crowns, six German Cups and 11 titles has unmistakably earned his place among the great legends of the game. While constructing this swollen trophy cabinet, Neuer revolutionised the entire goalkeeping position, popularising an adventurous sweeper-keeper technique which is now widespread.
Germany's World Cup-winning manager Joachim Low once gushed: "He could play in midfield." 's arrival at Arsenal in 2023 prompted some raised eyebrows. Snapped up by after Aaron Ramsdale had just finished a top-flight season as a solid number one, the Spanish goalkeeper initially arrived on loan - with an obligation to buy - from .
Arteta claimed that he was prepared to rotate his goalkeepers, but Raya soon won the manager's unanimous approval - much to the dismay of his main rival. The Premier League's Golden Glove winner at the end of his debut season in north London, Raya kept a league-high 16 clean sheets. Boasting an ease in possession which Arteta values, the goalkeeper is prone to some passing errors.
As he once warned: "In every game, there will be a mistake." After already showing great promise in goal for and , it was at that Thibaut Courtois reached his full potential. The imposing Belgian goalkeeper has played a vital role in his team's conquest of various titles since arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2018.
An imperial performer in the big games and , he will be remembered for his outstanding showing in the 2022 Champions League final, stopping a record-breaking nine efforts on target. It was a truly outstanding performance that rounded off a campaign in which he was named Real Madrid's Player of the Season. The 15 best Belgians in Premier League history have been ranked.
Jasper Cillessen's transfer from to was certainly one of the most incomprehensible of recent years. Fresh from a season in which he made just three appearances, the Dutch goalkeeper left Catalonia to join Los Che for a hefty sum of £29.4m.
As many expected, the union quickly turned into a nightmare. The Dutch goalkeeper suffered several physical setbacks during his time in Valencia and was eventually relegated to a reserve role. Three seasons and 51 matches after his arrival, it was already time for him to leave Mestalla and return to his homeland, where he signed for NEC Nijmegen for the modest sum of £840,000.
There are many aspects of the beautiful game in which is a forerunner. One of them is the way he uses his goalkeepers. As soon as he arrived at in 2016, the Catalan coach was adamant that he needed to have a goalkeeper who was adept on the ball.
With that in mind, he quickly replaced Joe Hart with Claudio Bravo, before recruiting , who was then playing for SL Benfica. It was a move that paid off handsomely, with the Brazilian goalkeeper playing an active role in the club's conquest of six Premier League titles, one Champions League and two . On a personal level, Ederson has kept more clean sheets than any of his peers in three separate seasons (2020, 2021, 2022).
Just like his team, did not enjoy the easiest campaign in 2023/24, but he has nonetheless shown that he is a talented player. Admittedly, perhaps not enough to justify the £42.4m invested by in snatching him from last year.
He has been divisive and decisive, playing a key role in the Red Devils' FA Cup final victory over fierce rivals Manchester City after a campaign littered with high-profile blunders, particularly in the Champions League. At 28, the Cameroon international does not yet seem to have reached his glass ceiling, and will undoubtedly be one of 's key players if the Dutchman is to return Manchester United to former glories. While it is now commonplace to see transfer prices soar, the fact that spent £44.
4m to lure Gianluigi Buffon from Parma in 2001 is exceptional. Even more so for a goalkeeper. So much so, in fact, that the Italian held the record for the most expensive goalkeeper in history for the best part of two decades.
It may have been a hefty sum, but the 2006 World Cup winner still proved to be a bargain. Buffon played a total of 685 matches for Juventus and won no fewer than 22 trophies, including 10 titles, two Champions Leagues and five Coppa Italia crowns. If investing more than £50m on a player already requires a good dose of confidence, doing so on a goalkeeper could, for some, border on madness.
Yet it was a risk that the Liverpool management decided to take in the summer of 2019 when they completed the arrival of Alisson Becker from . The Brazilian goalkeeper quickly justified the price tag, establishing himself as one of the Premier League's most dependable performers. Winner of the first-ever , an award dolled out to the best goalkeeper of the year, Alisson has made a major contribution to his team's success on the domestic and international stage.
These achievements have been all the more important given that they have come in an era when Liverpool's main rivals, Manchester City, boast unrivalled financial dominance. Unlike Alisson, Kepa Arrizabalaga's transfer to England turned out to be a damp squib. Recruited by Chelsea from for the record sum of £67.
2m in 2019, the Spaniard has never really lived up to the expectations inherent in the deal. His loan to Real Madrid during the 2023/24 season, when he was supposed to replace Courtois after a serious knee injury, was also unsuccessful. So much so, in fact, that he was forced to watch Los Blancos' key victories from the bench, while Andriy Lunin shone in the Madrid goal.
At 29 years of age and with a year remaining on his contract, his departure from Chelsea now seems inevitable, and the London club will no doubt be trying to get the best possible price for him. Several Manchester United players, including Casemiro and Antony, could potentially move to the Saudi Pro League during the summer transfer window..
