A goalkeeper is a field player whose duty it is to prevent the opposing side from scoring a goal. One goalie is assigned to each squad. To distinguish their position on the field, this player usually wears different outfits.

Goalkeepers, unlike the rest of the players, are permitted to touch the ball with their hands. This is only permitted inside the penalty area. Keepers often wear gloves and long sleeves during games as they utilize their hands and dive for the ball.

Here are our picks for the top ten best Goalkeepers in the world in 2023. We’ve used a variety of stats from the start of the season to quantify our rankings, as well as a player’s recent overall contribution to the game.

Top 10 Best Football Goalkeepers in The World 2023

Goalkeepers are the field’s eyes and ears, and they often notice things that coaches do not. The goalie interacts with the defensive players and midfielders to position them correctly and provides them orders to alter formation to block the opposing team’s approaching onslaught.

During free kicks, corner kicks, and goal kicks, the goalie organizes the defense. More advanced players will understand and appreciate the goalkeeper’s duty and will obey her instructions.

1. Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian professional footballer among the Best Goalkeeper In The World 2023 who leads and plays goalie for Parma in Serie B. He is generally recognised as one of the all-time best goalkeepers. He is one of the rare players with over 1,100 professional career appearances.

He owns the Serie A record for the longest period without allowing a goal (974 minutes in the 2015-16 season), as well as the Serie A and Italian national team clean sheet records. He is also the most capped Italian player in history, as well as the most capped European. He is the only goalie to have been named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.

Gianluigi Buffon Goalkeeping Stats:

Many goalkeepers end up in the position by chance; this is generally due to being the weakest player. However, Buffon, who was a midfielder until he saw Thomas N’Kono in goal for Cameroon in the 1990 World Cup as a 12-year-old, along with Peter Schmeichel, Oliver Kahn, and Iker Casillas overturned that perspective.

These weren’t poor goalkeepers; these were athletic warriors who performed some absolutely amazing things to keep the ball out of the net.

Jose Luis Chilavert and Rogerio Ceni captivated audiences with their set-piece skill, as did Rene Higuita with his acrobatic antics, but it wasn’t so much about making goalkeeping attractive as it was about doing something utterly unusual and earning a reputation for themselves.

2. Iker Cassilas 

Personally, I feel that Iker Casillas is among the greatest goalkeeper available right now. There are several outstanding goalkeepers, including Neuer and De Gea, but I believe the fundamental difference between him and them is because he has much more experience. I too feel he will be recognised as one of the greatest of all time, but not as the absolute best. With time, one of the younger keepers has a solid chance of unseating Casillas for the title.

Iker Casillas was unrivalled at his best, and he was at his best for almost a decade. He was an unrivalled shot-stopper, stands 2nd among the Best Goalkeeper In The World 2023 .

Iker Cassilas Goalkeeping Stats:

Casillas, like Gianluigi Buffon, was the last goalie to give equal weight to the more traditional parts of keeping and the new concern with playmaking from deep.

Casillas had a terrible conclusion to his career, to be sure. That is beyond a doubt. Nonetheless, he was the finest goalie in the world for almost a decade. In fact, his deterioration seemed to be exacerbated by the amount of brilliance that preceded it.

Casillas’ skill earned him every domestic, European, and international award. What distinguished Casillas from his colleagues, especially Buffon, were the pivotal interventions that laid the groundwork for their accomplishments.

Casillas flourished under duress in important matches for the aforementioned achievement. Because his interventions were so regular and, at times, implausible – to the point of being called supernatural – he gained and merited the moniker Saint Iker.

3. Petr Čech

At Number three in Best Goalkeeper In The World 2023 is Petr Čech. He owns many goalkeeping records, including the Premier League record for fewest appearances necessary to attain 100 clean sheets (180), the most clean sheets in a season (24), and the most clean sheets in Premier League history (202).

Petr Cech, Chelsea’s goalkeeper, has agreed to a new five-year contract extension that would keep him at the club until 2013.

Petr Čech Goalkeeping Stats:

The Czech international joined Chelsea from French club Rennes in 2004 for £7 million and has made 166 appearances for the club, maintaining an impressive 90 clean sheets.

Cech won the Barclays Premiership Golden Gloves in his debut season after setting a new record in top-flight football by not allowing a goal in 1,024 minutes and keeping the most clean sheets (21) in a single Premier League season.

“I am thrilled that Petr has signed a new contract,” Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said.

Now the issue is, is he indeed the finest keeper in the world, as certain parts of the media seem to believe?

Based on his first two seasons at Chelsea, he has shown to be the finest goalkeeper in the world, as we won the FA English Premier League championship back to back in 2005 and 2006.

Cech is just 25 years old, and he will only become better since goalkeepers often peak in their 30s and do not retire until they are 40 years old.

He was very crucial in Chelsea’s recent back-to-back Premier League wins, when just 15 goals were surrendered in an entire League season in 2005.

Cech was named to the Euro 2004 all-star squad after helping his nation reach the semi-finals. Cech was also named Best Goalkeeper in the UEFA Champions League during the 2004-2005 and 2006-2007 seasons. In addition, in 2006, he was chosen to the FIFPro and UEFA Champions League season teams.

Cech currently holds three records: the Czech professional league record of not conceding a goal in 855 competitive minutes, the English Premiership record of not conceding a goal in 1,025 minutes, and the most clean sheets achieved in a single Premier League season (25), set during Chelsea’s title-winning season in 2004-05.

He also holds a club record at Sparta Praha, having gone 928 minutes undefeated in all competitions in 2001-2002, when his unbeaten run in Czech league play was paired with his achievements in the UEFA Champions League.

4. Edwin Van Der Sar 

Next Best Goalkeeper In The World 2023 is Edwin van der Sar is a former professional football goalkeeper from the Netherlands. He played for AFC Ajax, Juventus F.C., Fulham F.C., and Manchester United F.C. throughout his illustrious career, collecting 26 major trophies and many individual honours, including UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009.

He is the second most capped player in the history of the Netherlands national team. Van der Sar is regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers of all time by both critics and teammates. Van der Sar’s exceptional longevity has established other records throughout his career.

Edwin Van Der Sar  Goalkeeping Stats:

He is also the oldest player to have appeared in a UEFA Champions League Final, at 40 years and 211 days old. Currently serving as the CEO of AFC Ajax, the UEFA Champions League surprise club from last season.

He didn’t make his professional debut until he was 20, when he signed for Ajax. He played 312 games in nine seasons at Amsterdam. He won four Eredivisie championships with Ajax (1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1997/98), three KNVB Cups (1993, 1998, 1999), three Dutch Supercups (1993, 1994, 1995), the 1995 Champions League, the 1992 UEFA Cup, the 1995 Super Cup, and the 1995 Intercontinental Cup. That’s a long journey.

At the time, he was considered as one of the top keepers in the world. When he eventually transferred, it was to the Old Lady, where he played for two seasons as their first foreign keeper until being replaced by Gianlugi Buffon.

This led him to the unusual surroundings of Fulham. In reality, he’d had a shaky final season in Italy, committing a few gaffes. Perhaps this lowered his standing in the eyes of others. Whatever the reason, he joined Fulham for roughly £5 million and played four seasons there, including the incredible Intertoto Cup run in 2002. He completed his first contract before leaving to join Manchester United, who had been interested in him since the late 1990s.

During his six seasons at Old Trafford, he won the Premier League (2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2010/11), the League Cup in 2006, the Champions League in 2008, and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008, as well as three Community Shields.

5. Peter Schmeichel

Another famous name among Best Goalkeeper In The World 2023 is Peter Schmeichel. He was named the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper in 1992, 1993, and 2000, and is widely regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers of all time.

There are few images in sports more thrilling than a goalkeeper running into the opposing penalty area, unfettered, to attack a last-minute corner. It almost always does more damage than benefit.

Peter Schmeichel Goalkeeping Stats:

But on that night in Barcelona, a great Dane left his post to set up the greatest ending in football history. He didn’t score, and he probably didn’t even touch the ball, yet there would be a different inscription next to 1999 on the Champions League trophy if he hadn’t been there.

It was Schmeichel’s last appearance in a Manchester United jersey, and it served as a final reminder that a goalie is much more than saves and clean sheets.
While his responses and agility excelled beyond his intimidating 6’4″ 16-stone frame, enabling him to both fill and move around the goal, it was the traits that were little more difficult to emphasise that put him beyond his colleagues.

He had the uncommon ability to scare strikers while backing up his aura with world-class saves, making him a leader who also happened to be brilliant with his hands. So as he raced forward in Catalonia for the decisive attack against Bayern Munich, there was no mistake that he would collide into an aerial tackle. It was 1-1 three seconds later.

Only Toni Schumacher came close to matching Schmeichel in terms of terror factor – and the German’s reputation needed a near-beheading of Patrick Battiston first.

Schmeichel’s defence was stretched, but he managed to walk the fine line between giving them confidence and looming as executioner if they screwed up. You may have the finest individual defenders in the world, but without a respected and clear voice behind them, things can swiftly unravel.

It’s improbable that United would have swept up domestically in the 1990s and later won Europe without him. The £505,000’splashed’ on Brondby talent resulted in five Premier League crowns, three FA Cups, a League Cup, and the European title.

6. Manuel Neuer

Manuel Neuer is one of three candidates on the shortlist for the Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper award, which will be presented on Monday in Zürich. If the current holder keeps his trophy, Neuer will be crowned the GOATkeeper, the best of all time.

The Bayern captain has been named IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper five times in his career, tied with Spaniard Iker Casillas and Italian Gianluigi Buffon, and has one Best FIFA award to his record, like Buffon. fcbayern.com highlights the reasons why Neuer should be declared the world’s best.

Manuel Neuer Goalkeeping Stats:

With multiple records, Neuer also established himself as the finest German keeper of all time. With 208 shutouts in Germany’s top division, the shot-stopper has already surpassed former record-holder Oliver Kahn (196) with 13 clean sheets in the Bundesliga last year.

Furthermore, with his tenth Bundesliga championship, he became the most successful goalie in Bundesliga history, and he is also the national team’s most-capped keeper with 108 international appearances.

The outstanding goalkeeper has also meant that Bayern has been able to maintain its league triumphant march in recent months. Neuer triumphed in 29 of his 37 Bundesliga appearances last season.

With 307 victories in 455 Bundesliga games, the 2014 World Cup champion is also poised to unseat Oliver Kahn in first position (310 wins in 557 games). Neuer’s drive for achievement is unquenchable, as he exudes in every training session and every minute on the field.

Now he may go down in history as the winner of The Best FIFA Football Awards on Monday.

7. Jan Oblak

In a competitive class, Slovenian soccer player Jan Oblak is the finest goalkeeper of all time in the 2021/22 season. Oblak made 38 saves in a single year, stopping 18 goals.

Jan Oblak became the most expensive goalkeeper in Spanish top-flight history when he joined Atletico Madrid in the 2014 close season for €16 million.

Jan Oblak Goalkeeping Stats:

Oblak, who had signed a six-year contract, did not seem concerned that he struggled to dislodge Atletico Madrid number one Miguel Angel Moya for the first seven months of his time at the club, as he was still only 21 and had only managed 60 top-flight appearances in four seasons in Portugal across various loan deals and with his parent club Benfica.

He made his LaLiga debut on March 21, 2015, at home against Getafe, and has missed just 10 league matches for Atleti since then. When Atletico Madrid visits Valencia on Saturday, he will make his 200th appearance in Spain’s top division.

Oblak has routinely generated world-class goalkeeping stats since his debut.

Since his debut in March 2015, the shot-stopper has kept 36 more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper (111), behind only fellow Slovenian Samir Handanovic.

When compared to the other 100 goalkeepers who have played at least 7000 minutes in the top five European leagues during this time period, he is the only one who has maintained a clean sheet in more than half of his appearances (56%) and has the best minutes per goal allowed ratio of all 100 keepers (145 minutes per goal conceded).

8. Allison Becker

Alisson has been hailed for important saves, positioning, distribution, and consistency, and is largely considered as the finest shot-stopper in the Premier League, having made the most saves (eight) without conceding in the Champions League final since 2003/2004.

The 27-year-old also earned the Premier League’s Golden Glove award with 21 clean sheets before surrendering just one goal in Brazil’s Copa America victory this summer.

Allison Becker Goalkeeping Stats:

It’s not surprising, though, that Alisson ended even further in the Goal 50 standings this time, in the sixth position.

But what is it about the Selecao star that makes him such a unique shot-stopper? Is Alisson going to say anything else?

Goal’s Liverpool reporter Neil Jones spoke with John Achterberg, the Reds’ goalkeeping coach, to find out…

To begin, John, Alisson is the top-ranked goalkeeper in the Goal 50 list for the second year in a row. Is there any question in your mind that he is now the best?
JA: You don’t want to shout it too loudly, but if you look at it and follow goalkeepers, he deserves it.

Last year, he won everything that was available to him, and he was the most consistent goaltender in the league. I doubt many people would disagree with that.

Now he has the opportunity to do it again and again and again. That is something we discuss with him.

You must discover your concentration and a technique to replicate your form over time. It’s all about desire: wanting to be the greatest goalie in practise, wanting to outperform the other goalkeeper, wanting to be the best you can be.

You have to develop that mindset, get five clean sheets, get ten, and establish goals for yourself as a person to be the greatest in every way possible. When you lose that desire, you will begin to degrade.

9. Marc-André ter Stegen

Playing goal for Barça is a difficult assignment. The combination of possession responsibilities, playing behind a high line, and, of course, overall crowd and media pressure make the job unsuitable for many.

Marc-André ter Stegen has played in 271 total matches over the previous seven seasons. During that period, the German has seen some of the club’s all-time highs and lows, but how much of this should be ascribed to him? This is a problem that has muddled many people’s opinion of ter Stegen’s quality, especially in recent years.

Marc-André ter Stegen Goalkeeping Stats:

Individual score lines, collective performances, nostalgia, and other factors have all seemed to get muddled into the discourse while taking a step back and actually trying to judge the German’s performance has become more unusual.

Although fans can never completely agree on all issues, changes can be made by removing as much prejudice as feasible. When a number of elements are considered, it is clear that Barcelona was very fortunate to have ter Stegen.

While many emphasize the German international’s errors and stretch them across years and years, his strengths, as well as his genuinely world-class skills, cannot be overlooked.

Based on the most sophisticated shot-stopping measures, Ter Stegen has consistently ranked among the best goalkeepers for lengthy periods of time. StatsBomb’s post-shot predicted goals estimate the possibility of a goalie surrendering from a shot based on its position, trajectory, velocity, height, and other factors.

Since 2017/18, ter Stegen has underperformed his post-shot anticipated goals allowed by a total of 12.4 (0.09 per 90 minutes) in La Liga. Thus, considering the quality of shots he has faced, he has stopped 12 more goals than the typical goalie would have anticipated to save.

10. Ederson

Ederson of Manchester City has been rated the best goalkeeper in the Premier League by Shay Given. The former Aston Villa goalkeeper believes the Brazilian’s entire game distinguishes him from his league counterparts.

Ederson joined Manchester City in the summer of 2017, and he has been the club’s first-choice goalkeeper ever since. He has been in outstanding form for City, and his passing has often separated him apart from other Premier League goalkeepers.

Ederson Goalkeeping Stats:

Ederson’s profile is almost the polar opposite of De Gea’s. Ederson’s distribution was far and by the best in the Premier League, and it was worth roughly two more goals to Manchester City over the course of the season compared to having an average Premier League distributer in goal.

“In addition, his sweeping was excellent, saving Manchester City an extra 2.5 goals while enabling them to play with a high defensive line.” Ederson’s shot-stopping ability is the reason he isn’t higher on this list.

Unlike the other big six goalkeepers, Ederson performed below average when it came to shot stopping, and considering that shot stopping actions enable the goalkeeper to have the most effect on the game, this greatly hindered the influence he had on Manchester City.

FAQs Regarding Best Goalkeeper In The World 2023

Conclusion

That concludes the Best Goalkeeper In The World 2023. So, here is our unique ranking of the world’s Best Goalkeeper of all time in 2023.

We hope you liked our list of the world’s greatest goalkeepers in 2023. Also, please leave your opinions in the comments area below.