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.[1] Bayern Munich is the team with the most wins, with a total of nine.
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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.
| Player | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
 Gianluigi Buffon
|
5 | 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2017 |
 Manuel Neuer
|
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020 | |
 Iker Casillas
|
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 | |
| Walter Zenga
|
3 | 1989, 1990, 1991 |
 José Luis Chilavert
|
1995, 1997, 1998 | |
| Oliver Kahn
|
1999, 2001, 2002 | |
 Peter Schmeichel
|
2 | 1992, 1993 |
 Thibaut Courtois
|
2018, 2022 | |
| Jean-Marie Pfaff
|
1 | 1987 |
 Rinat Dasayev
|
1988 | |
| Michel Preud'homme
|
1994 | |
| Andreas Köpke
|
1996 | |
 Fabien Barthez
|
2000 | |
 Petr Čech
|
2005 | |
 Alisson
|
2019 | |
| Gianluigi Donnarumma
|
2021 | |
| Ederson
|
2023 | |
 Emiliano Martínez
|
2024 |
| Club | Total | Players |
|---|---|---|
| Bayern Munich
|
9 | 3 |
| Real Madrid
|
7 | 2 |
| Juventus
|
5 | 1 |
 Manchester United
|
3 | 2 |
| Inter Milan
|
3 | 1 |
| Vélez Sársfield
|
3 | 1 |
| Chelsea
|
2 | 2 |
 Benfica
|
1 | 1 |
| KV Mechelen
|
1 | 1 |
| Liverpool
|
1 | 1 |
| Marseille
|
1 | 1 |
| Milan
|
1 | 1 |
| Monaco
|
1 | 1 |
| Paris Saint-Germain
|
1 | 1 |
| Spartak Moscow
|
1 | 1 |
| Manchester City
|
1 | 1 |
| Aston Villa
|
1 | 1 |
| Nationality | Total | Players |
|---|---|---|
| Germany
|
9 | 3 |
| Italy
|
9 | 3 |
| Spain
|
5 | 1 |
| Belgium
|
4 | 3 |
| Paraguay
|
3 | 1 |
| Brazil
|
2 | 2 |
| Denmark
|
2 | 1 |
| Czech Republic
|
1 | 1 |
| France
|
1 | 1 |
| Soviet Union
|
1 | 1 |
| Argentina
|
1 | 1 |
Bold indicates the World's Best Man Goalkeeper winner.
| Year | Confederation | Winner | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | UEFA | Gianluigi Donnarumma[20]
|
Milan Paris Saint-Germain
|
| CONMEBOL | Emiliano Martínez[21]
|
Aston Villa
| |
| CONCACAF |  Guillermo Ochoa[22]
|
América
| |
| CAF |  Édouard Mendy[23]
|
Chelsea
| |
| AFC |  Mathew Ryan[24]
|
Real Sociedad
| |
| OFC |  Oliver Sail[25]
|
Wellington Phoenix
|
| Rank | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lev Yashin | Soviet Union
|
| 2 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy
|
| 3 | Manuel Neuer | Germany
|
| 4 | Iker Casillas | Spain
|
| 5 | Gordon Banks | England
|
| 6 | Petr Čech | Czech Republic
|
| 7 | Dino Zoff | Italy
|
| 8 | Sepp Maier | West Germany
|
| 9 | Ricardo Zamora | Spain
|
| 10 | Oliver Kahn | Germany
|
| Rank | Player | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy
|
357 |
| 2 | Iker Casillas | Spain
|
260 |
| 3 | Manuel Neuer | Germany
|
219 |
| 4 | Petr Čech | Czech Republic
|
218 |
| 5 | Edwin van der Sar |  Netherlands
|
201 |
| 6 | Peter Schmeichel | Denmark
|
179 |
| 7 | Oliver Kahn | Germany
|
162 |
| 8 | Thibaut Courtois | Belgium
|
150 |
| 9 | José Luis Chilavert | Paraguay
|
146 |
| 10 | Walter Zenga | Italy
|
132 |
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.[28][29]
| Rank | Player | Nation | Period | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lev Yashin | Soviet Union
|
1950–1970 | 1002 |
| 2 | Gordon Banks | England
|
1963–1972 | 717 |
| 3 | Dino Zoff | Italy
|
1968–1983 | 661 |
| 4 | Sepp Maier | West Germany
|
1966–1979 | 456 |
| 5 | Ricardo Zamora | Spain
|
1920–1936 | 443 |
| 6 | José Luis Chilavert | Paraguay
|
1989–2003 | 373 |
| 7 | Peter Schmeichel | Denmark
|
1987–2001 | 291 |
| 8 | Peter Shilton | England
|
1970–1990 | 196 |
| 9 | František Plánička | Czechoslovakia
|
1926–1938 | 194 |
| 10 | Amadeo Carrizo | Argentina
|
1954–1964 | 192 |
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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.[30]
| Rank | Player | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy
|
199 |
| 2 | Iker Casillas | Spain
|
197 |
| 3 | Petr Čech | Czech Republic
|
154 |
| 4 | Edwin van der Sar | Netherlands
|
116 |
| 5 | Oliver Kahn | Germany
|
99 |
| 6 | Dida | Brazil
|
90 |
| 7 | Víctor Valdés | Spain
|
82 |
| 8 | Júlio César | Brazil
|
76 |
| 9 | Jens Lehmann | Germany
|
72 |
| 10 | Roberto Abbondanzieri | Argentina
|
68 |
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.[31][32][33][34][35][36]
| Rank | Player | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy
|
226 |
| 2 | Iker Casillas | Spain
|
213 |
| 3 | Edwin van der Sar | Netherlands
|
201 |
| 4 | Peter Schmeichel | Denmark
|
179 |
| 5 | Oliver Kahn | Germany
|
162 |
| 6 | Petr Čech | Czech Republic
|
154 |
| 7 | José Luis Chilavert | Paraguay
|
146 |
| 8 | Walter Zenga | Italy
|
132 |
| 9 | Andoni Zubizarreta | Spain
|
132 |
| 10 | Claudio Taffarel | Brazil
|
130 |
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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.[37]
| Rank | Player | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manuel Neuer | Germany
|
183 |
| 2 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy
|
148 |
| 3 | Thibaut Courtois | Belgium
|
130 |
| 4 | Hugo Lloris | France
|
96 |
| 5 | Keylor Navas |  Costa Rica
|
93 |
| 6 | Jan Oblak |  Slovenia
|
85 |
| 7 | Petr Čech | Czech Republic
|
80 |
| 8 | Marc-André ter Stegen | Germany
|
78 |
| 9 | David de Gea | Spain
|
75 |
| 10 | Iker Casillas | Spain
|
67 |
| Sport | Association football |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best performing woman goalkeeper of the calendar year |
| Presented by | International Federation of Football History & Statistics |
| History | |
| First award | 2012 |
| Editions | 13 |
| First winner |  Hope Solo |
| Most wins | Sarah Bouhaddi Hope Solo (4 awards each) |
| Most recent | Alyssa Naeher (1st award) |
| Website | www |
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| Player | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Hope Solo
|
4 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Sarah Bouhaddi
|
2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 | |
 Christiane Endler
|
2 | 2021, 2022 |
| Almuth Schult
|
1 | 2014 |
| Sari van Veenendaal
|
2019 | |
| Mary Earps
|
2023 | |
| Alyssa Naeher
|
2024 |
| Club | Total | Players |
|---|---|---|
| Lyon
|
6 | 2 |
| OL Reign
|
4 | 1 |
| VfL Wolfsburg
|
1 | 1 |
| Arsenal
|
1 | 1 |
| Atlético Madrid
|
1 | 1 |
| Paris Saint-Germain
|
1 | 1 |
| Manchester United
|
1 | 1 |
| Chicago Red Stars
|
1 | 1 |
| Nationality | Total | Players |
|---|---|---|
| United States
|
5 | 2 |
| France
|
4 | 1 |
| Chile
|
2 | 1 |
| Germany
|
1 | 1 |
| Netherlands
|
1 | 1 |
| England
|
1 | 1 |
Bold indicates the World's Best Woman Goalkeeper winner.
| Year | Confederation | Winner | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | UEFA | Sandra Paños[47]
|
Barcelona
|
| CONMEBOL | Christiane Endler[48]
|
Paris Saint-Germain Lyon
| |
| CONCACAF |  Stephanie Labbé[49]
|
 FC Rosengård Paris Saint-Germain
| |
| CAF |  Chiamaka Nnadozie[50]
|
Paris FC
| |
| AFC | Teagan Micah[51]
|
FC Rosengård
| |
| OFC | Victoria Esson[52]
|
 Avaldsnes
|
| Rank | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hope Solo | United States
|
| 2 | Briana Scurry | United States
|
| 3 | Nadine Angerer | Germany
|
| 4 | Christiane Endler | Chile
|
| 5 | Bente Nordby | Norway
|
| 6 | Hedvig Lindahl | Sweden
|
| 7 | Alyssa Naeher | United States
|
| 8 | Silke Rottenberg | Germany
|
| 9 | Gao Hong |  China
|
| 10 | Sarah Bouhaddi | France
|
| Rank | Player | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Almuth Schult | Germany
|
132 |
| 2 | Sarah Bouhaddi | France
|
115 |
| 3 | Hope Solo | United States
|
98 |
| 4 | Hedvig Lindahl | Sweden
|
95 |
| 5 | Nadine Angerer | Germany
|
75 |
| 6 | Karen Bardsley | England
|
75 |
| 7 | Sari van Veenendaal | Netherlands
|
69 |
| 8 | Christiane Endler | Chile
|
63 |
| 9 | Sandra Paños | Spain
|
56 |
| 10 | Alyssa Naeher | United States
|
51 |
Men's winners
| |
