Sportskeeda Football Awards 2016: Goalkeeper of the Year

Sportskeeda Football Awards 2016 Goalkeeper of the Year

#5 Gianluigi Donnarumma (Reader’s Rank: 7 | Sportskeeda’s Rank: 4 | Average Score: 5.5)

FLORENCE, ITALY - NOVEMBER 10:  Gianluigi Donnarumma and Gianluigi Buffon (R) chat during the training session at the club's training ground  at Coverciano on November 10, 2016 in Florence, Italy.  (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
Gianluigi Donnarumma is the legitimate heir to Gianluigi Buffon’s throne

When a 17-year-old goalkeeper is the only reason AC Milan fans were coming to the San Siro at the start of the year, that teenager must be some talent. Throughout 2016, Gianluigi Donnarumma has gone on to prove that the hype surrounding him is very, very justified. He is arguably the biggest goalkeeping talent to emerge ever since Gigi Buffon and Iker Casillas made their debuts decades ago, and I would not bet against him topping this list in the next few years.

Serie A's dwindling viewership is why Donnarumma only emerged with 3% of our readership's vote, but we at Sportskeeda rate him very highly. Just take a look at his numbers – 99 saves in the calendar year is only bettered by Keylor Navas and Stephane Ruffier in the list, while his SPG ratio of 2.36 is nothing to sniff at either. Stunningly, the 6 foot 5-inch teenager has a 100% claim success in all competitions in 2016 – the only keeper in this list to do so.

It's unthinkable that a 17-year-old has manned the goal for a nation with a huge pool of goalkeeping talent like Italy, but that is what Donnarumma has achieved. His agent, Mino Raiola has valued him at €170 million, but I doubt that even AC Milan will let one of their prized jewels go for that much. Goalkeeping has a new crown prince, and his name is Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Gianluigi Donnarumma: 2016 Calendar Stats
Appearances37
Clean Sheets12
Goal Conceded42
Saves99
Saves per Goal2.36
Penalties Conceded/Saved1/0
Distribution Success Rate71%
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