The IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper is a football award given annually since 1987 to the best goalkeeper of the year as voted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). The votes are cast by IFFHS's editorial staff as well as experts from different continents.
The winner is announced at the end of the year. The winning goalkeeper is awarded a gold trophy at the World Football Gala. Italy's Gianluigi Buffon, Spain's Iker Casillas and Germany's Manuel Neuer have each won the award a record five times; Casillas won the award for five consecutive years between 2008 and 2012. Below is a list of the previous winners since the first award in 1987, which was won by Belgium's Jean-Marie Pfaff. Bayern Munich is the team with the most wins, with a total of nine.
Men's winners
Gianluigi Buffon has made the top three an unprecedented fourteen times. This includes five wins (joint record with Iker Casillas and Manuel Neuer), six runner-up (record) and three third-placed finishes.
List of winners YearRankPlayerClub(s)Points19871st Jean-Marie Pfaff Bayern Munich1372nd Rinat Dasayev Spartak Moscow433rd Walter Zenga Inter Milan3019881st Rinat Dasayev Spartak Moscow1192nd Hans van Breukelen PSV Eindhoven973rd Walter Zenga Inter Milan3119891st Walter Zenga Inter Milan792nd Michel Preud'homme KV Mechelen383rd Rinat Dasayev Sevilla3319901st Walter Zenga Inter Milan722nd Michel Preud'homme KV Mechelen353rd Gabelo Conejo Cartaginés3419911st Walter Zenga Inter Milan512nd Sergio Goycochea Racing Club373rd Cláudio Taffarel Parma2919921st Peter Schmeichel Manchester United1182nd Andoni Zubizarreta Barcelona283rd Hans van Breukelen PSV Eindhoven2319931st Peter Schmeichel Manchester United842nd Sergio Goycochea Racing Club703rd Jorge Campos UNAM2319941st Michel Preud'homme KV Mechelen Benfica1032nd Thomas Ravelli IFK Göteborg733rd Cláudio Taffarel Reggiana5319951st José Luis Chilavert Vélez Sársfield372nd Peter Schmeichel Manchester United293rd Thomas Ravelli IFK Göteborg2419961st Andreas Köpke Marseille1142nd David Seaman Arsenal1013rd José Luis Chilavert Vélez Sársfield4419971st José Luis Chilavert Vélez Sársfield612nd Angelo Peruzzi Juventus573rd Peter Schmeichel Manchester United5319981st José Luis Chilavert Vélez Sársfield1982nd Fabien Barthez Monaco1463rd Edwin van der Sar Ajax7519991st Oliver Kahn Bayern Munich1162nd Peter Schmeichel Manchester United953rd José Luis Chilavert Vélez Sársfield9320001st Fabien Barthez Monaco Manchester United1952nd Oliver Kahn Bayern Munich1333rd Francesco Toldo Fiorentina13120011st Oliver Kahn Bayern Munich2652nd Oscar Córdoba Boca Juniors773rd Gianluigi Buffon Parma Juventus6920021st Oliver Kahn Bayern Munich3162nd Iker Casillas Real Madrid1013rd Rüştü Reçber Fenerbahçe9920031st Gianluigi Buffon Juventus1862nd Iker Casillas Real Madrid1123rd Oliver Kahn Bayern Munich10620041st Gianluigi Buffon Juventus1852nd Petr Čech Rennes Chelsea1253rd Dida Milan7820051st Petr Čech Chelsea1752nd Dida Milan913rd Gianluigi Buffon Juventus7820061st Gianluigi Buffon Juventus2952nd Jens Lehmann Arsenal1403rd Petr Čech Chelsea9120071st Gianluigi Buffon Juventus2092nd Petr Čech Chelsea1723rd Iker Casillas Real Madrid12420081st Iker Casillas Real Madrid2492nd Gianluigi Buffon Juventus1703rd Edwin van der Sar Manchester United14320091st Iker Casillas Real Madrid2302nd Gianluigi Buffon Juventus1503rd Júlio César Inter Milan12420101st Iker Casillas Real Madrid3042nd Júlio César Inter Milan1243rd Petr Čech Chelsea5620111st Iker Casillas Real Madrid2482nd Manuel Neuer Schalke 04 Bayern Munich1303rd Víctor Valdés Barcelona11420121st Iker Casillas Real Madrid2242nd Gianluigi Buffon Juventus1283rd Petr Čech Chelsea9220131st Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich2112nd Gianluigi Buffon Juventus783rd Petr Čech Chelsea6420141st Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich2162nd Thibaut Courtois Atlético Madrid Chelsea963rd Keylor Navas Levante Real Madrid4620151st Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich1882nd Gianluigi Buffon Juventus783rd Claudio Bravo Barcelona4520161st Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich1562nd Gianluigi Buffon Juventus913rd Rui Patrício Sporting CP5020171st Gianluigi Buffon Juventus2512nd Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich1033rd Keylor Navas Real Madrid8520181st Thibaut Courtois Chelsea Real Madrid1812nd Hugo Lloris Tottenham Hotspur1093rd Gianluigi Buffon Juventus Paris Saint-Germain5920191st Alisson Liverpool3862nd Marc-André ter Stegen Barcelona1043rd Jan Oblak Atlético Madrid6720201st Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich3202nd Jan Oblak Atlético Madrid403rd Alisson Liverpool3020211st Gianluigi Donnarumma Milan Paris Saint-Germain1702nd Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich753rd Édouard Mendy Chelsea4020221st Thibaut Courtois Real Madrid1252nd Emiliano Martínez Aston Villa1103rd Yassine Bounou Sevilla5520231st Ederson Manchester City1452nd Emiliano Martínez Aston Villa763rd Thibaut Courtois Real Madrid7320241st Emiliano Martínez Aston Villa1672nd Unai Simón Athletic Bilbao913rd Giorgi Mamardashvili Valencia5520251st Gianluigi Donnarumma Paris Saint-Germain Manchester City1692nd Thibaut Courtois Real Madrid653rd Yann Sommer Inter Milan59
Statistics +Winners (1987–present)PlayerWinsYears Gianluigi Buffon52003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2017 Iker Casillas2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Manuel Neuer2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020 Walter Zenga31989, 1990, 1991 José Luis Chilavert1995, 1997, 1998 Oliver Kahn1999, 2001, 2002 Peter Schmeichel21992, 1993 Thibaut Courtois2018, 2022 Gianluigi Donnarumma2021, 2025 Jean-Marie Pfaff11987 Rinat Dasayev1988 Michel Preud'homme1994 Andreas Köpke1996 Fabien Barthez2000 Petr Čech2005 Alisson2019 Ederson2023 Emiliano Martínez2024
+Wins by clubClubTotalPlayers Bayern Munich93 Real Madrid72 Juventus51 Manchester United32 Inter Milan31 Vélez Sársfield31 Chelsea22 Manchester City22 Paris Saint-Germain21 Aston Villa11 Benfica11 KV Mechelen11 Liverpool11 Marseille11 Milan11 Monaco11 Spartak Moscow11 +Wins by nationalityNationalityTotalPlayers10393514331222111111111
Continental winners
Bold indicates the World's Best Man Goalkeeper winner.
YearConfederationWinnerClub(s)2021UEFA Gianluigi Donnarumma Milan Paris Saint-GermainCONMEBOL Emiliano Martínez Aston VillaCONCACAF Guillermo Ochoa AméricaCAF Édouard Mendy ChelseaAFC Mathew Ryan Real SociedadOFC Oliver Sail Wellington Phoenix
Men's historical all-time World Best Goalkeepers top 10
+Top 10 playersRankPlayerNation1Lev Yashin Soviet Union2Gianluigi Buffon Italy3Manuel Neuer Germany4Iker Casillas Spain5Gordon Banks England6Petr Čech Czech Republic7Dino Zoff Italy8Sepp Maier West Germany9Ricardo Zamora Spain10Oliver Kahn Germany
All-time World's Best Goalkeeper ranking (since 1987)
+Top 10 playersRankPlayerNationPoints1Gianluigi Buffon Italy3572Iker Casillas Spain2603Manuel Neuer Germany2194Petr Čech Czech Republic2185Edwin van der Sar Netherlands2016Peter Schmeichel Denmark1797Oliver Kahn Germany1628Thibaut Courtois Belgium1509José Luis Chilavert Paraguay14610Walter Zenga Italy132
The World's Best Male Goalkeeper of the Century (1901–2000)
At the end of the 20th century, the IFFHS also voted on the World's Goalkeeper of the Century, won by the Soviet Union's Lev Yashin running ahead of Gordon Banks and Dino Zoff.World - Keeper of the Century
+Top 10 playersRankPlayerNationPeriodPoints1Lev Yashin Soviet Union10022Gordon Banks England1963–19727173Dino Zoff Italy1968–19836614Sepp Maier West Germany1966–19794565Ricardo Zamora Spain1920–19364436José Luis Chilavert Paraguay1989–20033737Peter Schmeichel Denmark1987–20012918Peter Shilton England1970–19901969František Plánička Czechoslovakia1926–193819410Amadeo Carrizo Argentina1954–1964192
The World's Best Male Goalkeeper of the Decade (2001–2010)
In 2011, the IFFHS also voted on The World's Best Goalkeeper of the 21st Century's first decade, taking into consideration goalkeepers' performances during the first decade of the 21st century, between 2001 and 2011; the award was won by the Italy's Gianluigi Buffon running ahead of Iker Casillas and Petr Čech.
+Top 20 playersRankPlayerNationPoints1Gianluigi Buffon Italy1992Iker Casillas Spain1973Petr Čech Czech Republic1544Edwin van der Sar Netherlands1165Oliver Kahn Germany996Dida Brazil907Víctor Valdés Spain828Júlio César Brazil769Jens Lehmann Germany7210Roberto Abbondanzieri Argentina6811Fabien Barthez France5512José Manuel Reina Spain5413Rogério Ceni Brazil5314Francesco Toldo Italy5215Igor Akinfeev Russia4716Jerzy Dudek Poland4217Timothy Matthew Howard United States of America3617Manuel Neuer Germany3619Santiago Cañizares Spain3520Justo Villar Paraguay34
The World's Best Male Goalkeeper of the Past 25 Years: 1987–2012 In 2012, the IFFHS also voted on The World's Best Goalkeeper of the past 25 years, taking into consideration goalkeepers' performances between 1987 – the year of the award's inception – and 2012; the award was won by the Italy's Gianluigi Buffon running ahead of Iker Casillas and Edwin van der Sar.
RankPlayerNationPoints1Gianluigi Buffon Italy2262Iker Casillas Spain2133Edwin van der Sar Netherlands2014Peter Schmeichel Denmark1795Oliver Kahn Germany1626Petr Čech Czech Republic1547José Luis Chilavert Paraguay1468Walter Zenga Italy1329Andoni Zubizarreta Spain13210Claudio Taffarel Brazil130
The World's Best Male Goalkeeper of the Decade (2011–2020)
In 2021, the IFFHS voted on The World's Best Goalkeeper of the Decade 2011–2020, taking into consideration goalkeepers' performances during 2011–2020; the award was won by Manuel Neuer running ahead of Gianluigi Buffon and Thibaut Courtois.World's Best Goalkeeper of the Decade 2011-2020 : Manuel Neuer - IFFHS, 14 January 2021
+Top 20 playersRankPlayerNationPoints1Manuel Neuer1832Gianluigi Buffon1483Thibaut Courtois1304Hugo Lloris965Keylor Navas936Jan Oblak857Petr Čech808Marc-André ter Stegen789David de Gea7510Iker Casillas6711Claudio Bravo5112Alisson Becker4313Victor Valdes4914Samir Handanovič3915Joe Hart3016Danijel Subašić2317Rui Patricio1818Fernando Muslera1519Sergio Romero1520Ederson15
Women's winners
List of winners YearRankPlayerClub(s)Points20121st Hope Solo Seattle Sounders1102nd Nadine Angerer Eintracht Frankfurt803rd Hedvig Lindahl Kristianstads3520131st Hope Solo Seattle Reign1102nd Nadine Angerer Brisbane Roar Eintracht Frankfurt1063rd Stina Lykke Borg FCR Duisburg4220141st Hope Solo Almuth Schult Seattle Reign VfL Wolfsburg1102nd–3rd Nadine Angerer Brisbane Roar Portland Thorns4520151st Hope Solo Seattle Reign1482nd Nadine Angerer Portland Thorns663rd Ayumi Kaihori INAC Kobe Leonessa3620161st Sarah Bouhaddi Lyon1112nd Almuth Schult VfL Wolfsburg823rd Hope Solo Seattle Reign7720171st Sarah Bouhaddi Lyon1902nd Sari van Veenendaal Arsenal1123rd Katarzyna Kiedrzynek Paris Saint-Germain4220181st Sarah Bouhaddi Lyon1852nd Almuth Schult VfL Wolfsburg1213rd Ashlyn Harris Orlando Pride4820191st Sari van Veenendaal Arsenal Atlético Madrid1852nd Sarah Bouhaddi Lyon923rd Alyssa Naeher Chicago Red Stars8220201st Sarah Bouhaddi Lyon2202nd Christiane Endler Paris Saint-Germain553rd Ann Katrin Berger Chelsea2520211st Christiane Endler Paris Saint-Germain Lyon1102nd Sandra Paños Barcelona1003rd Stephanie Labbé FC Rosengård Paris Saint-Germain4520221st Christiane Endler Lyon1052nd Mary Earps Manchester United503rd Merle Frohms VfL Wolfsburg2520231st Mary Earps Manchester United1642nd Sandra Paños Barcelona783rd Zećira Mušović Chelsea4920241st Alyssa Naeher Chicago Red Stars1092nd Cata Coll Barcelona963rd Mary Earps Manchester United Paris Saint-Germain9120251st Hannah Hampton Chelsea1492nd Cata Coll Barcelona1283rd Ann-Katrin Berger Gotham FC58
Statistics +Winners (2012–present)PlayerWinsYears Hope Solo42012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Sarah Bouhaddi2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 Christiane Endler22021, 2022 Almuth Schult12014 Sari van Veenendaal2019 Mary Earps2023 Alyssa Naeher2024 Hannah Hampton2025 +Wins by clubClubTotalPlayers Lyon62 OL Reign41 VfL Wolfsburg11 Arsenal11 Atlético Madrid11 Paris Saint-Germain11 Manchester United11 Chicago Red Stars11 Chelsea11