The 10 most expensive goalkeeper transfers of all time: Onana to Manchester United, Alisson to Liverpool…

Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale, Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga and Liverpool's Alisson Becker. TEAMtalk montage.

While attackers and midfielders often steal the spotlight, football clubs are no longer afraid to splash the cash on top goalkeepers.

The role of the modern goalkeeper has changed as they are now expected to be experts with their feet as well as their hands.

We’ve taken a look at the 10 most expensive goalkeepers of all time and how they fared after making the big-money move.

Note: we’ve only used the initial transfer fees and haven’t taken into account any potential add-ons.

10. Francesco Toldo – £23.85m

After failing to make the grade at AC Milan, Toldo joined Fiorentina in 1993 and won the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2000.

Fiorentina reluctantly decided to sell the Italy international in the summer of 2001 as they tried to stave off the threat of bankruptcy.

While Parma had identified him as Gianluigi Buffon’s successor, he vetoed the transfer and joined Inter Milan instead in a £23.85million deal.

The goalkeeper kept 95 clean sheets in 239 appearances for the club but operated as a back-up to Julio Cesar as Inter won five Serie A titles and the Champions League between 2005 and 2010.

9. Aaron Ramsdale – £24m

Eyebrows were raised when Arsenal opted to spend an initial £24million on Ramsdale, who had suffered back-to-back relegations from the Premier League with Bournemouth and Sheffield United.

But he soon silenced his doubters, replacing Bernd Leno as Arsenal’s No.1 and establishing himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.

“We saw he had that character, charisma, and personality to play for our club and he had the potential qualities to feed into our way of playing,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said in 2023.

“When you see the development he had the past two seasons, I think he is exceptional.”

8. Jordan Pickford – £25m

Despite suffering relegation with Sunderland in 2016/17, Pickford won plenty of plaudits and was shortlisted for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

He made a swift return to the Premier League and joined Everton in a deal that could ultimately be worth £30million, making him the most expensive British goalkeeper of all time.

The England international has more than justified his price tag, winning Everton’s Player of the Season award in 2017/18, 2021/22 and 2022/23.

Amid reported interest in the goalkeeper, Everton tied him down to a new long-term contract in February 2023.

Jordan Pickford of Everton

7= Jasper Cillessen – £31.4m

Despite only making five La Liga appearances during his three years at Barcelona, Cillessen did enough to convince Valencia that he was worth £31.4million in 2019.

The Netherlands international failed to justify that price tag at the Mestalla and was also plagued by a series of injury problems.

After being usurped by Giorgi Mammardashvili in the 2021/22 season, he was then sold to Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen for just €1million.

7= Thibaut Courtois – £31.4m

After refusing to sign a contract extension at Chelsea, Courtois completed his dream move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.

He endured a difficult debut season at the Bernabeu and was dropped by Zinedine Zidane after making a series of mistakes.

But the Belgium international turned things around and rediscovered his best form, helping Madrid win La Liga in 2019/20 and 2021/22.

He also produced a man-of-the-match performance as Madrid edged out Liverpool in the 2022 Champions League final and was then awarded the Yashin Trophy.

5. Gianluigi Buffon – £32.6m

Having sold Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid in the summer of 2001, Juventus splashed the cash and made Buffon the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.

The former Italy international proved to be a relative bargain, making 656 appearances in all competitions over the following 17 years while winning nine Serie A titles, Serie B and four Coppa Italias.

He told FourFourTwo: “If we go back to my signing at Juve, the amount of money they spent on me had every critic saying the exact same thing: ‘No, you can’t pay that much money for a goalkeeper.’

“And, you know, it’s right that those conversations happen as well. But in the end, I was at Juventus for 17 years. I think that with me, Juve made one of the best pieces of business in their history. If you look at it now, I doubt anyone could disagree with that.”

4. Ederson – £34.7m

Buffon’s 16-year reign as the world’s most expensive goalkeeper came to an end in 2017 when Manchester City signed Ederson from Benfica.

He immediately replaced Claudio Bravo in Pep Guardiola’s starting XI and established himself as one of the best ball-playing goalkeepers in the world.

The Brazil international has since won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four EFL Cups and three Golden Glove awards at the Etihad.

Ederson also lifted the Champions League trophy in 2023 after producing a brilliant performance against Inter Milan in the final.

3. Andre Onana – £43.9m

An Ajax academy graduate, Onana made over 200 appearances for the club before joining Inter Milan on a free transfer in the summer of 2022.

The Cameroon international enjoyed an excellent debut season in Italy, helping Inter win the Coppa Italia and reach the Champions League final.

Inter then made a £43.9million profit on Onana by selling him to Manchester United, who are managed by former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag.

“Nowadays, football also demands good playing from the back, out-playing qualities, and that is a quality Andre has,” Ten Hag said. “You need both and you need to cover both areas. So yeah, we’re happy, of course.

“I think with his physical presence and also with his personality, he is so keen on winning. He’s so, so eager to win trophies and he will help the team and he will help the squad to get to higher levels.”

2. Alisson Becker – £56m

After Loris Karius’ nightmare in the 2018 Champions League final, Liverpool brought Alisson to Anfield in a deal that could ultimately cost £66.9million.

The Brazil international has proved a transformative signing for the Reds, helping them win the Champions League, the Premier League, the FA Cup, an EFL Cup and the FIFA World Club Cup.

He’s also picked up a host of individual accolades, including the Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper award, the Yashin Trophy and two Golden Gloves.

“If I knew Alisson was this good I would have paid double,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp later admitted.

Alisson of Liverpool

1. Kepa Arrizabalaga – £71.6m

After selling Courtois and missing out on Alisson in the summer of 2018, Chelsea triggered Kepa’s release clause at Athletic Bilbao.

He made a series of high-profile mistakes during his first two years at Stamford Bridge and notably had a high-profile row with Maurizio Sarri during the 2019 League Cup final.

The Spain international then fell out of favour under Frank Lampard and Edouard Mendy was brought in to replace him in 2020.

But he regained his starting spot in 2022/23 and Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly planning to keep Kepa as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper.

READ MORE: Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Bukayo Saka and the 11 most valuable footballers in the world in 2023

Alisson Becker Andre Onana Aaron Ramsdale

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