Top 10 goalkeepers of the 2016/17 season

We’ve seen goalscoring records tumble as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continue to enjoy stellar seasons, but the men at the other side remain as under-appreciated as ever. It takes a certain amount of crazy to be a goalkeeper, but some pull the balancing act off with a great degree of panache.

Without further ado, here are the 10 best goalkeepers of the 2016/17 season:

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Honourable Mentions:

To be quite honest, each and every one of these three goalkeepers deserves a spot on the Top 10 list, but we can only choose 10. However, they are worthy of an honourable mention, since they missed the cut by the finest of margins.

#13 Oliver Baumann – TSG Hoffenheim

The German goalkeeper finished second in the Bundesliga’s Official Goalkeeper of the Season voting, behind Manuel Neuer – with some nothing that he perhaps deserved the award himself. Baumann has been one of the main reasons why his side finished fourth in the Bundesliga, as he marshalled a defence that kept 12 clean sheets, while only making 3 fewer saves than Neuer, despite playing a game less.

#12 Jordan Pickford – Sunderland

There will be plenty of Premier League fans who will be surprised at the fact that Pickford has missed out, as he is arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the English top flight. The youngster made an incredible 110 saves this season, although the fact that he could only manage 4 clean sheets in 29 appearances counts against him, notwithstanding Sunderland’s awful defence. I would not bet against him making the top 10 next season, though.

#11 Yohann Pele – Olympique Marseille

The best goalkeeper of the Ligue 1 season, and by some margin. Yohann Pele’s magnificent form behind the sticks for Marseille has been one of the bright spots in l’Om’s meandering campaign. The 34-year-old probably enjoyed the best season of his career, making an astonishing 112 saves in the season with an impressive Saves-Per-Goal ratio of 2.80, better than some of the other keepers in this list. The fact that Ligue 1’s xG (quality of finishing/expected goal from a shot on average, in layman’s terms) is worse than any of the other Top 5 European leagues has the Frenchman miss out.

#10 Hugo Lloris – Tottenham Hotspur

Hugo Lloris has been the backbone of Spur’s last two title challenges

One of the quirks of the art of goalkeeping hit home when Tottenham faced Manchester City this season – no sooner had I finished discussing why Lloris was the best goalkeeper in the Premier League with a colleague; than the Frenchman decided to blow that justification to smithereens with a calamitous error. It’s the life of a goalkeeper – that an entire season of excellence is remembered by a blemish.

And that’s where statistics come in – Hugo Lloris was 1 clean sheet away from picking up the Golden Glove award, ahead of a defence that let in few shots on goal, despite which the Frenchman made an impressive 65 saves, for an SPG ratio of 2.40.

The reason why Lloris finds himself so low down on our list is a continuing propensity for errors, and it won’t be his last, as he said:

“It’s not my first time and it will not be my last time. This is the responsibility of the keeper. But I’m very honest with myself. I don’t allow myself to make mistakes and I will try to do better the next time.”

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	36
Goals Conceded	27
Clean Sheets	15
Saves	65
Saves per goal (SPG)	2.40
Penalties(Saved/Conceded)	0/1
Distribution Accuracy	77%

#9 Thibaut Courtois – Chelsea

The trophies have rolled in for Thibaut Courtois this season

It’s been a season of redemption for Chelsea, and much like the Blues’ fortunes, Thibaut Courtois has also enjoyed a stellar spell in goal, as the Belgian has turned around his form to win the Premier League Golden Glove award with a superb haul of 16 clean sheets in the league. The credit, according to Courtois, goes to an Italian – not Antonio Conte, but Gianluca Spinelli, the same man who once trained Gigi Buffon.

Chelsea’s Belgian keeper had a falling out with Cristophe Lollichon, the former Chelsea keeping coach, and went on to credit his uptick in form to Spinelli, saying "Training with Spinelli is completely different as he’s from the Italian school. He wants me to push more laterally straight away when I dive, rather than taking a step forward first. As a youngster I learned to put one foot forward before I dived, but he prefers goalkeepers to move laterally first. It has improved the speed of my diving and I’m getting down quicker.”Cristophe Lollichon, the former Chelsea keeping coach, and went on to credit his uptick in form to Spinelli, saying "Training with Spinelli is completely different as he’s from the Italian school. He wants me to push more laterally straight away when I dive, rather than taking a step forward first. As a youngster I learned to put one foot forward before I dived, but he prefers goalkeepers to move laterally first. It has improved the speed of my diving and I’m getting down quicker.”

“We’re also doing a lot more ball-work in training, always practising in situations which are game realistic. Spinelli likes us to really attack the ball with our feet, as well as coming for crosses, which is a very Italian trait, so you could say I’ve learned that from [Gianluigi] Buffon. I’m always trying to learn things from different goalkeepers.”

If Courtois continues to listen to Spinelli, we can expect more Golden Gloves and a rise up this list next season.

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	36
Goals Conceded	28
Clean Sheets	16
Saves	58
Saves per goal (SPG)	2.15
Penalties (Saved/Conceded)	0/2
Distribution Accuracy	72%

#8 Keylor Navas – Real Madrid

Keylor Navas lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy for the second consecutive season

From 1^st to 8^th, it’s fair to say that the winner of our Goalkeeper of the 2015/16 season award has had a tough year. However, like the entirety of his life and his footballing career, the Costa Rican knows what it takes to come through adversity. Navas had a terrible return from his Achilles injury, with high-profile errors against Las Palmas, Real Betis and Napoli surely the reason why rumours about De Gea’s move to Real Madrid started to resurface in the Madrid dailies.

However, Navas’ end to the season was a return to the form of last season – he was astounding in goal in El Clasico, keeping Real Madrid in the game right until Lionel Messi worked his magic in injury time. The Costa Rican ended the season with fine performances in the UEFA Champions League and La Liga, including a stunning stop to deny Miralem Pjanic in the Champions League final, at a time when Madrid were reeling and when conceding could have been devastating.

The man they call ‘God’ in Madrid has the backing of the dressing room, who have personally requested Florentino Perez to not sign a new keeper, according to Madrid newspapers. Despite what many would consider a poor season behind a leaky defence, Navas has still managed his customary 100+ saves in a season – which ought to ensure that Real Madrid do place faith in him. His manager, Zinedine Zidane does:

Keylor? He has been and is fundamental, like always.

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	39
Goals Conceded	48
Clean Sheets	6
Saves	103
Saves per goal (SPG)	2.14
Penalties (Saved/Conceded)	0/1
Distribution Accuracy	73%

#7 Wojciech Szczesny – AS Roma (on loan from Arsenal)

Wojciech Szczesny’s future is up in the air

Given the traumatic season Arsenal have endured, it almost seems fitting that the best goalkeeper they own has been plying his trade away from the club. Wojciech Szczesny has re-established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the world, after a couple of disappointing years that had the Gunners glad to dispense with his services.have endured, it almost seems fitting that the best goalkeeper they own has been plying his trade away from the club. Wojciech Szczesny has re-established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the world, after a couple of disappointing years that had the Gunners glad to dispense with his services.season Arsenal have endured, it almost seems fitting that the best goalkeeper they own has been plying his trade away from the club. Wojciech Szczesny has re-established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the world, after a couple of disappointing years that had the Gunners glad to dispense with his services.

The Pole ended the Serie A season as the winner of the Golden Glove, keeping an astounding 14 clean sheets behind an AS Roma defence that is hardly renowned for their parsimony, even in the best of times. While Szczesny does still provide heart-stopping moments when in possession of the ball at this feet and his propensity to execute Cruyff turns, what ought to please Arsenal fans is that his formerly awful distribution rate has sky-rocketed to an impressive 80% and a claim success rate of 91%.

With a SPG ratio of 2.45, Szczesny is one of the best goalkeepers in Serie A, which is saying something. Arsenal have an easy answer to their goalkeeping issues, but with Juventus and Napoli fighting for the Pole's signature, the Gunners may very well pull off another blunder in the transfer market.

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	38
Goals Conceded	38
Clean Sheets	14
Saves	93
Saves per goal (SPG)	2.45
Penalties (Saved/Conceded)	2/2
Distribution Accuracy	80%

#6 David de Gea – Manchester United

David de Gea has been United’s Titan between the sticks yet again

There will be plenty of Manchester United fans who’ll be shocked that David de Gea ranks so low in our Top 10 list, but it is important to know that it is for this season. The Spaniard’s quality is not in doubt – Real Madrid would be perfectly justified in making him the world’s most expensive goalkeeper of all time. However, De Gea’s numbers on paper do not make for impressive reading.

The reason ‘Saves-Per-Goal’ is a wonderful measure of a keeper is that defences of big teams let in fewer shots, which reduces the number of saves their keeper has to make. Conversely, a player like Pickford faces more shots, but concedes more goals. Saves-per-goal is a wonderful average than evens the field, and this is where De Gea falls woefully short, with a paltry 1.93 SPG season average, the worst of any goalkeeper in this list. Compared to last season, De Gea has made fewer saves, conceded more and had a worse distribution accuracy – which explains his plummet from 4th to 6th place.

Yet, what makes De Gea so valuable as a keeper is that he performs in the big moments of big games, with his best performances of the season coming against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City. Performances like these stick out in the memory, and explains why De Gea made it into the PFA Team of the Year. It’s no wonder that the Red Devils are reluctant to let ‘Superman’ leave.

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	38
Goals Conceded	33
Clean Sheets	14
Saves	64
Saves per goal (SPG)	1.93
Penalties (Saved/Conceded)	0/4
Distribution Accuracy	69%

#5 Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – FC Barcelona

Whatever he goes on to achieve in his career, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen will never forget this stat – he remains the only keeper in footballing history to have ever been fouled in the opposition half, beginning the move that saw Barcelona complete that comeback against PSG. The German makes Manuel Neuer look positively gun-shy with the confidence he exudes on the ball, which can have its bad moments, as we witnessed against Celta Vigo in a 4-3 loss where Ter Stegen’s overplaying cost Barca a goal at a crucial stage. His response however, was perfect:

Ter Stegen: "it's my fault. Although this happened, I won't entirely change my okay".Strikes me as the right response, in both senses.

— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) October 2, 2016

The German has gone on to make an incredible 127 saves this season, and you can bet that a large percentage of those are him charging out of his goal-line to deny an opposition player who has run past Barca’s high defensive line. Even with the Blaugrana having one of their most catastrophic seasons defensively, Ter Stegen still walks away with a saves-per-goal ratio of 2.82.

A distribution accuracy of 83% is nigh on one of the best in the world and sure to leave Pep Guardiola salivating, but Barca have moved swiftly to tie Ter Stegen down to a long contract, until 2022, with an incredible £156 million release clause. He just might be worth it.

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	45
Goals Conceded	45
Clean Sheets	17
Saves	127
Saves per goal (SPG)	2.82
Penalties	0/0
Distribution Accuracy	83%

#4 Jan Oblak – Atletico Madrid

Jan Oblak has enhanced his reputation this season

Jan Oblak is the best goalkeeper in La Liga, but to his teammates, the Slovenian is the best goalkeeper in the world. Antoine Griezmann sung his praises after Oblak’s logic-defying 3 saves in as many seconds to deny Julain Brandt, Kevin Volland and Javier Hernandez from scoring in the UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 clash, saying “It's why we say he's the best goalkeeper in the world. He proves it in every game and he did so again.”

The Slovenian hasn’t had the luxury of Atletico’s famed defensive wall ahead of him this season, as Diego Simeone’s men have struggled. It was one of the reasons why Oblak was not considered by many to be the best keeper in previous seasons, as even despite his incredible numbers, the Slovenian was always considered ‘lucky’.

To his credit, Oblak has managed to garner impressive numbers this season, with 21 clean sheets and an impressive 80 saves for an SPG ratio of 2.85. A concern remains that his distribution accuracy is so low, but that’s explained away by that fact that Atletico play the long ball to Griezmann on the counter so often.

The 24-year-old is moving on up – just watch how often he’s denied the world’s best players and the world’s best teams this season in the video below.

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	41
Goals Conceded	28
Clean Sheets	21
Saves	80
Saves per goal (SPG)	2.85
Penalties (Saved/Conceded)	1/3
Distribution Accuracy	55%

#2 Manuel Neuer – FC Bayern Munich

Manuel Neuer remains remarkably consistent

The eagle-eyed among you will note that we don’t have third place in this Top 10 goalkeeper list, and that is because the 2^nd spot is shared. Manuel Neuer was crowned the ‘best goalkeeper in the world’ for the fourth time in his career by the ‘International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS)’ but he misses out on the top prize here.

With 16 clean sheets, despite missing the tail end of the season, the German has continued his supreme goalkeeping form. However, there has been a rise in the number of errors he commits, with one particular one against Schalke sticking out in the memory as it led to Bayern dropping points.

Still, Neuer’s SPG ratio is one of the best in the list at an astounding 3.375, but the sight of him letting Cristiano Ronaldo score 5 goals past him in 180 minutes will simply not go away – and coupled with the injury, is why he misses out on the top prize this season.

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	35
Goals Conceded	24
Clean Sheets	16
Saves	81
Saves per goal (SPG)	3.375
Penalties (Saved/Conceded)	0/0
Distribution Accuracy	84%

#2 Gianluigi Donnarumma – AC Milan

Gianluigi Donnarumma is on his way to becoming the world’s best

The hype is real.

December 23^rd 2016: As Paulo Dybala stepped up to take a penalty, AC Milan’s chances of a first trophy since 2011 lay in the hands of a lanky 17-year-old. True to form, Gianluigi Donnarumma pulled off a stunning save and when Mario Pasalic scored moments later, the Rossoneri cried tears of joy.

The Italian teenager is now 18-years-old and his agent, Mino Raiola, rates him as a €110 million player. In a world where Paul Pogba costs as much, I’d argue Donnarumma is worth more. He remains the only reason why Milanese fans turn up to the San Siro – and they’ve not been left disappointed.

Despite only playing league games, Donnarumma has made an incredible 135 saves – the best of any keeper on this list, and despite Milan’s awful defence, managed to keep 12 clean sheets while also racking up a saves-per-goals ratio of 3.14. He still retains his incredible claim success rate of 97% – while also displaying his skill at saving penalties.

We’re witnessing the birth of a legend here – and I would not put it past him to take the crown next season.

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	38
Goals Conceded	45
Clean Sheets	12
Saves	135
Saves per goal (SPG)	3.14
Penalties (Saved/Conceded)	2/5
Distribution Accuracy	78%

#1 Gianluigi Buffon

It’s no surprise that Gianluigi Buffon is the best goalkeeper in the world

It doesn’t matter what I write here.

Gianluigi Buffon may very well be the greatest goalkeeper of all time. Only Lev Yashin, who picked up the Ballon d’Or stands in his way – were it not for 45 agonising second-half minutes in Cardiff, Gianluigi Buffon would have been celebrating a first UEFA Champions League medal and possibly becoming the favourite for the Ballon d’Or.

39 years on the planet, and Gigi has played with players spanning 6 decades – he’s isn’t just a goalkeeper, he’s an epoch in the history of modern football by himself. The stats don't matter when it comes to a legend like him - moments do.

Juventus ought not to have been in the UEFA Champions League final - Buffon's save from Andres Iniesta from the most perfect pass of the season from Lionel Messi will go down as one of the best of all time. He was nigh on perfect against the impetuous youth of AS Monaco, but for once, the Bianconeri defence failed him in the final, with Ronaldo stealing the show.

It doesn't matter. Gigi Buffon will still remain the best.

2016/17 Stats
Appearances	42
Goals Conceded	31
Clean Sheets	20
Saves	78
Saves per goal (SPG)	2.51
Penalties (Saved/Conceded)	0/1
Distribution Accuracy	82%