The 8 goalkeepers with most clean sheets in the 21st century: Buffon, Reina…
With goalkeepers playing well into their 30s and sometimes 40s, many of them are able to have a longer lasting impact on the game than some outfield players.
The best goalkeepers in the world have thousands of clean sheets between them.
Here, we have looked into the eight goalkeepers with the most clean sheets in history, thanks to statistics from Transfermarkt.
8. Hugo Lloris – 334*
Despite being benched at the end of his 447-game career with Tottenham, Lloris has picked himself up after his exit. With Spurs, the Frenchman kept 151 clean sheets, after 67 with Lyon, and 30 with Nice.
After leaving north London, Lloris moved to LAFC, where in 55 games, he has 23 clean sheets.
His international stats with France are perhaps the most impressive, though. Lloris played for the former world champions on 145 occasions – keeping three clean sheets during that 2018 triumph – and kept 63 clean sheets.
There is an option for him to remain with his current side until at least the end of 2026, so Lloris might not be done climbing the ladder in club football.
7. Pepe Reina – 371*
At every level Reina has played at, he has impressed. Given he shared much of his career with Spanish icon Iker Casillas, Reina was only afforded 36 international games, and he kept clean sheets in 21 of those.
Elsewhere, he has been fantastic, keeping at least 50 clean sheets for three separate clubs: Liverpool – where he spent eight years – Villarreal and Napoli. Nominal figures have been achieved by Reina for Barcelona, Lazio, AC Milan, Aston Villa, Bayern Munich and current club Como.
That he is still playing means his figure of 371 could continue to rise, though after leaving his last club Villarreal, he stated he wanted to write his last chapter, which means he could soon hang up the gloves.
6. Igor Akinfeev – 376*
At 38 years old, Akinfeev is still going strong. He is the longest-serving player in the Russian Premier League, having racked up 788 appearances for his one and only club – CSKA Moscow.
He has helped them to six league titles, one UEFA Cup, and a number of other honours. At club level, Akinfeev has kept 328 clean sheets, and his entire career figure becomes 376 when added to his international stats.
The Russian has a year left on his current deal, so could make up more ground on the list.
5. Manuel Neuer – 393*
Neuer will almost certainly move up at least one spot on this list, perhaps more depending on how long he plays on for. The German has struggled with injuries of late, so his numbers are not being boosted as often as they were a few years ago.
After 80 clean sheets with Schalke in his early career, Neuer was rewarded with a move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, where he currently has 262 clean sheets.
In international football, the 39-year-old has 51 clean sheets to his name, bringing his career total to 393 and counting.
4. Petr Cech – 399
It is rare for a player to be let go by one Premier League club where he was a legend, as it’s perceived he’s begun to wind down, and essentially pick up where they left off. For Cech, after a stellar career with Chelsea, he continued to star with Arsenal.
The best year’s of his career came at Stamford Bridge, where he won 15 trophies, including multiple Premier Leagues and a Champions League.
He kept 228 clean sheets in 494 games for the Blues, and once conceded just 13 goals in a Premier League season, before missing the last three games of the campaign, in which another two goals were scored by Chelsea’s opponents. During that season, Cech’s best run was 10 games without conceding.
After leaving the Blues in 2015, he added another 54 clean sheets with Arsenal, where he won the FA Cup in 107. He became the only goalkeeper to reach 200 Premier League clean sheets during his time at the Emirates. On top of his 342 clean sheets at club level, Cech kept another 57 for Czechia.
Highlighting his skills as a stopper, he then became a professional ice hockey player for a short time.
3. Edwin van der Sar – 439
Synonymous with the dominant era at Manchester United in the 2000s, Van der Sar is one of the very best players to ever represent the Red Devils.
He won 11 trophies with them, and once went 14 Premier League games without conceding – a record which stands to this day.
Though he kept 135 clean sheets with United, his most came with Ajax, where he kept 139. At club level, there were also 52 with Fulham and 41 for Juventus, totalling 367, with another 72 added to that in international football with the Netherlands.
2. Iker Casillas – 440
One of the very best goalkeepers to ever play the game, Casillas once held each of the World Cup, the Euros and the Champions League at the same time. He was a central figure to Spain and Real Madrid, respectively, during those triumphs.
In the 2010 World Cup, he kept five clean sheets, and in the following Euros, he kept four. Both competitions were won by Spain. In total, Casillas kept 102 international clean sheets – the most ever – and 338 in club football.
He ended his career with 440 clean sheets to his name, and went out an absolute legend.
QUIZ: Can you name every World Cup winning goalkeeper since 1966?
1. Gianluigi Buffon – 506
In international football alone, Italian stopper Buffon kept 77 clean sheets in 176 games. Playing well into his 40s, it’s unsurprising that Buffon was able to rack up a monstrous figure of clean sheets.
In club football, he shut out opponents on 429 occasions. As many as 322 of those clean sheets came with Juventus, for whom the goalkeeper was a legend, playing 685 games.
In total, between club and international football, Buffon’s tally was a whopping 506 clean sheets.
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