Juventus Legend Gianluigi Buffon Names His Current Top 5 Goalkeepers, Including Jan Oblak and Manuel Neuer

Juventus Legend Gianluigi Buffon Names His Current Top 5 Goalkeepers, Including Jan Oblak and Manuel Neuer

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:12 PM
In this article:
Bundesliga logo
GER Bundesliga
Germany
French Ligue 1 logo
FRA Ligue 1
France
Italian Serie A logo
ITA Serie A
Italy
Spanish La Liga logo
SPA La Liga
Spain
UEFA Champions League logo
UEFA UCL
Europe
  • Juventus legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has named his top 5 goalkeepers in Europe
  • The 44-year-old named keepers from four of Europe's top five leagues with the Premier League missing out
  • Buffon won the World Cup with Italy in 2006 and retired in 2017 with 176 caps but still plays club football with Serie B side Parma

Legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has named his current top five goalkeepers in European football.

The former Juventus keeper's list contained household names that play in Europe's top five leagues.

Gianluigi Buffon, Mike Maignan, Jan Oblak, Thibaut Courtois, Manuel Neuer, Gianluigi Donnarumma, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A, World Cup, Champions League
Left to right: AC Milan's Mike Maignan, Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak and Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer. Photos by James Williamson, Angel Martinez and Catherine Steenkeste
Source: Getty Images

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy!

According to Football Italia, Buffon listed his keepers but no Premier League custodian made the list. The 2006 World Cup winner currently plays for Parma in Serie B at 44 years.

Buffon has made 176 appearances for Italy and over 600 games in Serie A. Here are his top 5 keepers.

5. Mike Maignan

The Frenchman replaced the departing Gianluigi Donnarumma in 2021, and he has filled the Italian shoes convincingly. He played a vital role in AC Milan's route to Scudetto success this past season.

4. Jan Oblak

The Atletico Madrid showstopper is still on top of his game both in La Liga and the Champions League. He has been ever present for the Spanish giants, cementing his position as a leader in the team.

Buffon names his compatriot in the top two

3. Manuel Neuer

Bayern Munich keeper has fallen off slightly from his peak. Although his standards have gone down, he remains a top keeper for the German giants. Neuer has won the 2014 World Cup and two Champions Leagues.

2. Gianluigi Donnarumma

The Italian number one left AC Milan to join Italian giants PSG last year and despite a slow start to life in France, the 23-year-old is now the first names on the team sheet for Christophe Galtier's side.

1. Thibaut Courtois

The Real Madrid and Belgium number one is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment. He produced a stunning performance to help Real Madrid win the Champions League last season.

Buffon challenges Fabregas to score against him

Sports Brief earlier reported on Gianluigi Buffon relishing the chance to face Cesc Fabregas who joined Serie B side Como.

Parma and Como will see the two World Cup winners come face to face in Italy's second tier division.

When Fabregas suddenly joined Como a few months ago, Buffon challenged him to score against him when their teams meet.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.