The top five goalkeepers in the world right now according to Premier League winner

Ex-Premier League goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has revealed his top five shot-stoppers in world football. The former Stoke and Bournemouth star was wading into the debate over Jordan Pickford’s status as England No.1 . Pickford’s place in Thomas Tuchel ‘s team was called into question during the most recent international break as Leeds goalkeeper James Trafford nabbed his place for two of the four games. Nevertheless, Premier League winner Begovic believes Everton ‘s Pickford is still one of the best around. “He is definitely in the top ten in the world without a doubt,” Begovic said. “I think maybe he is just a little bit outside that top five. There isn’t a huge difference between all these goalkeepers. “I’ve seen it first hand working with him every single day at Everton. How he performed in the most pressurised situations… which is when you need your goalkeeper and your key players and he’s done some amazing things. “What he’s done for England for so many years… how consistent he’s been and some of the big games that he’s had there. “So he’s right up there with the best of them.” But if Pickford does not quite make the top five, who does? These are Begovic’s selections… 5. Mike Maignan (AC Milan) Age: 31 Major Trophies: 1x Serie A, 1x Ligue 1, 1x Nations League. Clean Sheets: Over 180 total career clean sheets across Lille, AC Milan, and the French national team. AC Milan star Maignan became the new France No.1 after Hugo Lloris retired in 2023. Known as ‘Magic Mike’, Maignan boasts one of the highest career penalty save rates in elite European football, having stopped over 30 per cent of the penalties he has faced. In his debut season in Italy, Maignan kept 17 clean sheets in 32 matches, winning the Best Goalkeeper award and inspiring AC Milan to their first Serie A Scudetto in 11 years. He is forever linked with a move to the Premier League – most notably Chelsea – although the Blues opted for a bargain deal to sign Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez earlier this year instead. 4. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) Age: 33 Major Trophies: 1x La Liga, 1x Europa League, 1x UEFA Super Cup, 1x Supercopa de Espana, 1x Primeira Liga, 1x Taca de Portugal, 1x Taca da Liga. Clean Sheets: Around 295 career clean sheets, holding one of the highest clean-sheet percentages in European football history (nearly 45 per cent of his total appearances). Oblak has won La Liga’s prestigious Ricardo Zamora Trophy five times, tying the all-time historic record shared with legendary Barcelona goalkeepers Antoni Ramallets and Victor Valdes. He also broke the all-time La Liga record by reaching 100 clean sheets in just 182 appearances, shattering the previous mark held by Miguel Reina (222 matches). During Atletico Madrid ‘s 2015/16 season, Oblak conceded just 18 goals in 38 La Liga games, equaling the lowest goals-conceded record for a 38-game European top-flight season. 3. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Man City) Age: 27 Major Trophies: 1x Champions League, 4x Ligue 1, 2x Coupe de France, 1x FA Cup, 1x EFL Cup, 1x European Championship Clean Sheets: Approaching 200 total career clean sheets across AC Milan, PSG, Manchester City, and Italy. Donnarumma has been around for so long, it is easy to forget he is still relatively youthful for a goalkeeper. The Italy star made his professional Serie A debut for AC Milan at just 16 years and 242 days old, making him the second-youngest goalkeeper to start a match in Italian top-flight history. He later became the youngest goalkeeper ever to play for Italy at 17 years and 189 days. Donnarumma has never lost a competitive penalty shootout – as England fans will know all too well – as he became the first ever goalkeeper to win UEFA’s Player of the Tournament for his performance at Euro 2020. 2. David Raya (Arsenal) Age: 31 Major Trophies: 1x Premier League, 1x European Championship, 1x World Cup, 1x Nations League. Clean Sheets: Over 130 professional clean sheets recorded across Southport, Blackburn Rovers, Brentford, Arsenal, and Spain. Incredibly, the second-best goalkeeper in the world does not even start for his country. Raya played just one match across Spain’s three recent international triumphs – with Unai Simon preferred between the sticks – but he is nevertheless invaluable to Arsenal. The 31-year-old began his English football journey on loan at non-league side Southport before climbing through League One and the Championship to win back-to-back Premier League Golden Glove awards. Besides his extraordinary shot-stopping ability, Raya is renowned for his long-range passing ability, changing the game when it comes to goalkeeper distribution. 1. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) Age: 34 Major Trophies: 2x Champions League, 4x La Liga, 2x Premier League, 2x Club World Cup, 1x Europa League, 1x FA Cup, 2x Copa del Rey. Clean Sheets: Over 335 clean sheets across KRC Genk, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and the Belgian national team. Despite his exceptional career, it only took one game to cement Courtois’ position as the greatest goalkeeper in world football. The Belgium star holds the record for the most saves ever in a single Champions League final, making nine incredible stops against Liverpool in the 2022 final to secure a 1–0 victory for Real Madrid. He also delivered an outstanding performance at the 2018 World Cup to win the Golden Glove award.