Top 10 Best Goalkeepers in The World 2022

The choice of the individual to man the sticks and don the number one shirt of a team is usually done with care and expectedly so because the goalkeeping position is one that is very delicate.

A goalkeeping performance can win a game or lose as one defining moment from the man in gloves can prove to be the difference.

Therefore, teams have now known better to spend huge amounts of money on recruiting goalkeepers, and similarly, playing as a goalkeeper has gone beyond making saves with hands.

Goalkeepers are now demanded to be good on their feet hence the rise of ball-playing goalkeepers.

Nevertheless, goalkeepers who are outstanding with their hands are still regarded with high respect, and so in this article, we take a look at the top 10 best  goalkeepers currently in the year 2022.

Top 10 Goalkeepers in The World 2022

Below is our list of the best goalkeepers in the world 2022. It is based on their performances and achievements in the year so far.

10. Jordan Pickford

Country: England
Club: Everton

Jordan Pickford is one of the major reasons why Everton beat the drop last season. Despite their very shambolic performance in the Premier League,
Pickford, throughout the season, stood out as one of their best players at Goodison Park.

To put into statistical perspective, he made 37 starts and conceded an average of 1.7 goals with 117 saves and seven clean sheets throughout the season.

At 28, maybe the best of his years are yet to come, but for the final games of the season for Everton, he showed one of the best goalkeeping performances of the season. Jordan Pickford played an important role as Everton escaped relegation last season.

9. Jan Oblak

Country: Slovenia
Club: Atletico Madrid

Any day any time, Jan Oblak would always be considered one of the best goalkeepers around the world.

The Slovenian shot-stopper has essentially, over the last couple of seasons, shown immense quality in between the sticks.

Atletico Madrid didn’t have the best of seasons in the 2021/2022 season as they relinquished their title to City rivals, but he has so far justified why he is La Liga’s most expensive goalkeeper.

He has won five Ricardo Zamora trophies since joining in 2014, sharing the record with Victor Valdes and Antoni Ramallets.

At 28, we should expect more from the man that cost Atletico Madrid $14.5M in 2013/2014.

8. Gianluigi Donnarumma

Country: Italy
Club: PSG

Not many a goalkeeper tend to make their senior team debut as 16-year-old teenagers. For the few ones who were lucky enough, they didn’t get to make such a debut for a big traditional team like AC Milan.

Gianluigi Donnarumma made his debut for AC Milan as a 16-year-old goalkeeper, but it was never an incidence of luck. Donnarumma has excellent reactions, and is great at stopping penalties. He is renowned for shot-stopping ability, and speed when rushing off his line to face opponents in one on one situations.

Now with PSG, Donnarumma has already taken over from Gigi Buffon in the Italian national team, winning the UEFA Euro championship last season. In the 2021/22 season, Donnarumma played some key matches as PSG won the Ligue title.

7. Mike Maignan

Country: France
Club: AC Milan

Mike Maignan has always been one with the potential, but he couldn’t break out at PSG, where he was with Team B till 2015.

He moved to Lille and spent the next six years winning the Ligue 1 in 2021, and he made 21 clean sheets, one short of the league record.,

At AC Milan, he replaced Donnarumma and won the Seria A in 2022, making it into the Seria A team of the season. The Frenchman was crucial as AC Milan won the Serie A title in the 2021/22 season, and is definitely one of the top goalkeepers in the world in 2022.

6. Ederson

Country: Brazil
Club: Manchester City

Ederson has always been ranked amongst the best-ever goalkeepers in the world. He moved from Benfica to Manchester City in 2017.

The 18-time cap goalkeeper is second to Allison in the Brazilian national team. His style of play isn’t limited to saves but also does well with his passing skills and can function as the last defender as a sweeper-keeper.

He has won four Premier League titles, and three of them came with the Premier League golden glove, including the just concluded season.

5. Alisson

Country: Brazil
Club: Liverpool

Currently, there are only a few goalkeepers who can topple Alisson Becker quality-wise.

From Internacional in Brazil down to Roma and now Liverpool, Becker has always shown brilliance in positioning, reflex, and every other quality that stands a goalkeeper out.

The Brazilian number one goalkeeper has a long list of individual awards. He also made the PFA Team of the year in the Premier League even though his team finished second.

He made up for it in the FA and League cups, becoming the goalkeeping hero for Liverpool against Chelsea. His 27 clean sheets in 54 matches in all competitions for the Reds isn’t bad at all.

4. Marc Andre Ter Stegen

Country: Germany
Club: Barcelona.

When it comes to goalkeepers who are good with the ball on their feet, Ter Stegen sits at the top with the very best. He is one of the best ball-playing goalkeepers in football right now.

The German has made over 200 appearances for Barcelona since 2014, and he keeps getting better. In a season where Barcelona rocked a topsy turvy sail, Ter Stegen made 12 clean sheets in 49 appearances.

3. Manuel Neuer

Country: Germany
Club: Bayern Munich

Manuel Neuer will always be in the discussions as one of the best-ever goalkeepers to have graced the game. The German goalie is one of the best sweeper keepers in football history.

The Bayern Munich shot-stopper makes sweep-keeping look like a piece of cake and delivers outstanding saves when called upon. If it is by laurels, Neuer fits the slate conveniently. When Bayern Munich cruised to their 10th straight Bundesliga title, Manuel Neuer was between the sticks doing his job well

2. Edouard Mendy

Country: Senegal
Club: Chelsea

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has had a remarkable 24 months, and he has been able to cap these last two years with trophies with the national team and the Premier League side.

Since joining Chelsea in 2020, he won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea and went ahead to win the AFCON in January 2022 with the Senegalese national team and helped his national team to the FIFA World Cup.

His Individual awards include the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2020–2021, UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season: 2020–2021, The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: 2021, Africa Cup of Nations Best Goalkeeper: 2021, and Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2021.

He also was nominated for the CAF Awards for African Player of The Year. Edouard Mendy is often said to be underrated, but he is undoubtedly one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

1. Thibaut Courtois

Country: Belgium
Club: Real Madrid

In 2022, no goalkeeper has been more influential than Real Madrid shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois who led the Los Blancos to the La Liga and UEFA Champions League double.

His influence was remarkably noticeable in the UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool in May, where he was voted man of the match.

He made 9 saves in the final, and a total of 59 saves in the UEFA Champions League campaign overall.