Football is the most famous game among other sports. Goalkeepers are undoubtedly among the highest-paid players.
They earn millions of dollars in football matches, but football fans may not pay as much attention to goalkeepers as they do to on-field football players.
The irony is ‘the wall’ goalkeepers are also the lowest-paid athletes in the context of many football clubs.
However, strong gloveman can make their case with a big payday and hefty contract. Below we have listed the top 15 richest goalkeepers in the world and their net worth.
15. Alisson Becker, Liverpool – $9.5 Million
Country: Brazil
Current Team: Premier League club Liverpool
Salary Per Year: £7,800,000
Alisson Ramses Becker is a Brazilian goalkeeper for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team.
He is recognized as one of the top goalkeepers in the world because of his distribution and one-on-one skills. Alisson received the inaugural Yashin Trophy and was also named The Best FIFA Goalkeeper.
He represented his country at the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, winning the 2019 competition, and was named the competition’s best goalkeeper.
He has endorsement contracts with Nike and Beats by Dre. Alisson has been appointed a goodwill ambassador by the World Health Organization.
14. Rui Patricio, AS Roma – $10 Million
Country: Portugal
Current Team: Serie A team Roma
Salary Per Year: £2,860,000
Rui Pedro dos Santos Patrício is a Portuguese professional goalkeeper for Serie A team Roma and the Portugal national team.
He joined Roma in 2021, where he won the Europa Conference League in his debut campaign. He competed for his country in two World Cups, four European Championships, and the 2019 Nations League.
For the Qatar-hosted FIFA World Cup in 2022, he was selected to the 26-man Portugal squad. Football is his main source of income, but he also earns a lot from endorsement deals with other companies, including Puma.
13. Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal FC – $11 Million
Country: England
Current Team: Premier League club Arsenal
Salary Per Year: £3,220,000
Aaron Ramsdale agreed to a four-year, £12,880,000 contract with the Arsenal Football Club, which included a £3,220,000 average annual salary.
He spent a season playing for Bournemouth before returning to Sheffield United in a deal costing an initial £18 million. Ramsdale became Arsenal’s most expensive goalkeeper in 2021 after joining the club in a trade for up to £30 million.
He was a member of the team that finished second at UEFA Euro 2020 and won the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2017.
Aaron has sponsorship deals with Adidas, the world’s largest sportswear company. Throughout the 2021–22 season, he only wore the Adidas Predator Edge+ boots and Predator Pro gloves.
Country: Costa Rica
Current Team: Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Costa Rica national team
Salary Per Year: £10,296,000
Keilor Antonio Navas Gamboa is recognized as one of the world’s best goalkeepers. He earns £198,000 a week and £10,296,000 a year as a goalkeeper for Paris Saint-Germain.
Navas has also received many individual honors, and from 2016 to 2018, he held the title of CONCACAF Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year three times.
He paid €10 million to join Real Madrid in 2014, and during his time there, he won twelve championships, including three straight UEFA Champions League titles.
Navas was included in the final 2022 World Cup squad held in Qatar. He has signed a personal endorsement deal with Adidas.
11. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, FC Barcelona – $16 Million
Country: Germany
Current Team: La Liga club Barcelona and the German national team.
Salary Per Year: £7,384,000 per year
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is a goalkeeper for Barcelona and earns £142,000 per week and £7,384,000 annually.
In his early years, he was considered to be an up-and-coming player. Since then, he has made a name for himself as one of the best goalkeepers in football.
In 2014, he paid €12 million to join Barcelona. He played for Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League, and in his first season in Spain, he won the treble. He represented Germany at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
10. Salvatore Sirigu, S.S.C. Napoli – $19 Million
Country: Italy
Current Team: Italian club Napoli and the Italy national team
Salary Per Year: £1,040,000
Salvatore Sirigu, a goalkeeper for Napoli, makes £20,000 a week and $1,040,000 annually.
His achievements at the club include four consecutive league titles and all four domestic tournaments in the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons. He was twice selected as the Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year.
In August 2022, Sirigu signed a free transfer deal with Napoli. In addition to football, Sirigu earned a sizable sum of money via sponsorships, brands, and endorsement deals.
9. Gianluigi Buffon, Parma Calcio 1913 – $20 Million
Country: Italy
Current Team: Serie B club Parma
Salary Per Year: £1,404,000
Gianluigi Buffon achieved fame as one of Italy’s most promising young goalkeepers after leading Parma to win the Coppa Italia, UEFA Cup, and Supercoppa Italiana in 1999.
He was the first goalie to receive the honor of Serie A Footballer of the Year and received a record of twelve Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year awards.
Buffon competed for Italy at four European Championships, the 1996 Olympics, and two FIFA Confederations Cups, where he won a bronze medal in 2013. In 2004, Buffon was listed by Pele as one of the 100 greatest players in the living history of FIFA.
Buffon has worn Puma football boots and gloves throughout his career and has been sponsored by the German sportswear brand Puma. He has also appeared in Puma advertisements.
8. Dean Henderson, Nottingham Forest – $25 Million
Country: England
Current Team: Premier League club Nottingham Forest, on loan from Manchester United
Salary Per Year: £5,200,000
Dean Bradley Henderson agreed to a five-year, £26,000,000 contract with Manchester United FC, which included an average salary of $5,200,000 per year.
His first professional deal was with Manchester United, which he signed in 2015, and it was extended for a further two years until 2022 in 2018.
Dean played in several lower leagues before joining Sheffield United in 2019 to make his Premier League debut. He has competed at the under-16, under-17, under-20, under-21, and senior levels for England.
7. Jordan Pickford, Everton FC – $25 Million
Country: England
Current Team: Premier League club Everton
Salary Per Year: £5,720,000
As a goalkeeper for Everton F.C., Jordan Lee Pickford makes £110,000 per week and $5,720,000 annually. He committed to Everton in June 2017 for a £25 million price.
In a friendly match against Germany in November 2017, he made his full-national team debut for England. Pickford was selected for the 26-man team for the rescheduled UEFA Euro 2020.
He started goalkeeping for England’s fourth-place performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Pickford made history by being the first goalie to preserve a perfect record through the first five games of a European Championship.
Jordan Pickford has signed a personal endorsement agreement with Nike. He uses their cleats as part of the agreement and wears their equipment for his appearances and professional matches.
6. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea FC – $28 Million
Country: Spain
Current Team: Premier League club Chelsea
Salary Per Year: £7,644,000
Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta earns £147,000 per week and £7,644,000 annually as a goalkeeper for Chelsea F.C.
He moved to Chelsea in 2018 for a record-breaking transfer fee for a goalkeeper of €80 million (£72 million). He won the UEFA Super Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Europa League there.
While playing for Spain’s under-19 squad, Arrizabalaga captured the 2012 European Championship.
He earned his senior debut in 2017 and was chosen for the 2018 World Cup. Arrizabalaga was selected for Spain’s 23-man team for Russia’s 2018 FIFA World Cup.
5. Hugo Lloris, Tottenham Hotspur – $30 Million
Country: France
Current Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Salary Per Year: £5,200,000
Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris is a French professional goalkeeper for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the France national team.
He has won the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year award.
Hugo earns a lot of money by endorsing several brands. He has been an official Nike endorser since 2010. In 2010, he took the helm of the national team for the first time.
He later established himself as the team’s chosen leader, leading France to quarterfinal places at the UEFA Euro 2012 and the FIFA World Cup 2014.
Hugo also holds the record for winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and finishing second at the 2016 UEFA Euro.
4. Kasper Schmeichel, OGC Nice – $35 Million
Country: Denmark
Current Team: Ligue 1 club Nice and the Denmark national team
Salary Per Year: £3,380,000
Kasper Peter Schmeichel, a goalkeeper for OGC Nice, earns £65,000 a week and £3,380,000 annually.
Schmeichel played with Leicester for 11 years, making 479 competitive appearances and helping the team win the Championship in 2013–14.
He played for his nation in the UEFA Euro 2020, the FIFA World Cup 2022, and the FIFA World Cup 2018. US footwear company New Balance named Kasper Schmeichel the company’s new brand ambassador.
3. Iker Casillas – $40 Million
Country: Spain
Iker Casillas Fernandez is a Spanish former football goalkeeper. He is regarded by many as one of the best goalkeepers of all time.
Casillas, who has spent the majority of his career at Real Madrid, is one of the few players to have played in over 1000 professional matches.
He also holds the record for the cleanest sheets for the Spain national team and the UEFA Champions League. In 2008, Casillas finished fourth in the Ballon d’Or vote.
He was also chosen for the UEFA Team of the Year six times in a row from 2007 to 2012, a goalkeeper record.
Casillas was chosen for the FIFPro World XI a record five times for a goalie and was voted the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper a record five times, along with Gianluigi Buffon and Manuel Neuer.
He signed a sponsorship agreement with Adidas in January 2012 to don their Response goalkeeping gloves and Predator football boots.
2. Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich – $45 Million
Country: German
Current Team: Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the German national team
Salary Per Year: £15,496,000
Manuel Neuer is the world’s second-richest goalkeeper. He plays goalkeeper for Bayern Munich and the German national team and is known for his agility, shot-blocking skills, and ball distribution.
He received the IFFHS’s best goalkeeper of the decade award from 2011 to 2020. After Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Neuer came in third place in the FIFA Ballon d’Or vote.
He received five each of the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper and the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year awards. With Germany, Neuer won the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper.
Neuer has endorsement deals with brands like Adidas, Coca-Cola Zero, Sony, Mobile World 24, Die Monster Uni, Head & Shoulders, and Mercedes-Benz.
1. David De Gea, Manchester United – $75 Million
Country: Spain
Current Team: Manchester United
Salary Per Year: £19,500,000
The richest and most wealthy goalkeeper in the world is David De Gea.
David De Gea is recognized as one of the greatest goalkeepers in football history due to his quick reactions and capacity for several legs saves.
He has succeeded with the Manchester United Red Devils by winning one Premier League championship, one FA Cup, and one EFL Cup.
De Gea was the captain of the Spain under-21 national team, which won the European Championship in 2011 and 2013 and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Many people predicted that De Gea would eventually replace Iker Casillas as Spain’s long-term goalkeeper.
In 2014, the year of his World Cup selection, he made his senior team debut. De Gea was chosen as Spain’s starting goalkeeper for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 European Championship.