Goalkeeper legend
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Goalkeeping legend Manuel Neuer celebrates his 40th birthday today. The most expensive German goalkeeper in football history has won everything: 2014 World Cup winner, two-time Champions League winner plus numerous Bundesliga and DFB Cup titles. While strikers dominate the headlines and midfielders dictate the tempo, it is often the goalkeepers who hold on to wins and consistently represent world class.
They established themselves as Premier League legends, LaLiga icons and Bundesliga bulwarks who made a habit of driving their opponents to despair. Transfermarkt looks at the goalkeepers with the most clean sheets in Europe’s top five leagues since 2000.
The list is headed by Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon. The former Juventus keeper has 263 clean sheets in 560 games for the Old Lady, Parma and Paris Saint-Germain. In second place is the Spaniard Pepe Reina with 255 games without conceding a goal in 665 appearances for FC Barcelona, Villarreal, Liverpool FC, SSC Napoli, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Aston Villa, Lazio and Como – a classic wandering bird.
Neuer takes third place with 245 clean sheets in 542 games. The Schalke homegrown player could further expand the brand this season and next in the FC Bayern jersey and climb the rankings.
Former Chelsea and former Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Čech is fourth with 231 clean sheets in 513 games, while Slovenia’s Samir Handanović is fifth with 204 clean sheets from 566 appearances. Hugo Lloris is in sixth place with 204 clean sheets in 579 games. Behind him in seventh place is Thibaut Courtois with 200 games without conceding a goal in 465 appearances – the second player on this list who is currently still active in one of the five top leagues.
