5 most valuable goalkeepers at the time of their retirement
It is not wrong to assume that it must require some special nerves to be a goalkeeper in football. It demands less physical involvement in the game as far as time is concerned compared to an outfield player and that is exactly why the job is so difficult. Between the posts, one is stable, not frantic, overlooking the progression of the game, and in a matter of seconds the attack is at your doorstep.
The goalkeepers, who lack momentum unlike the outfield players, are forced to produce excellent reflexes and if they fail in that split second, they bear the brunt. It is difficult to be employed between the sticks, because eventually one needs to keep their mind ticking all the time.
That is not to say that this difficult and meticulous job wasn't perfectly performed by the stars of the game. In fact, some of them absolutely owned this position between the sticks, even as they aged and lost their natural agility and reflex action. Even at the time of retirement, the market looked at them as respectable options and were willing to pay a decent sum to avail their services.
On that note, here are the five most valuable goalkeepers at the time of their retirement:
Disclaimer: All values are as listed on Transfermarkt
#5 Victor Valdes - £1.8 million
A much loved and fondly remembered servant of the Catalans, Victor Valdes was a legend for Barcelona. He was part of their family for nearly 20 years, starting out in the La Masia academy. Valdes steadily climbed up the ladder, one step at a time, moving from Barcelona's C team to their B team and finally made his debut for the first team in 2002.
The Spaniard was known for his competitive nature and was a lively figure in goal, shouting at his team-mates from the back, he was quite demanding and also motivating. Valdes made a total of 535 appearances with Barcelona's senior team before leaving for Manchester United in 2014.
He kept a whopping 239 clean sheets for the Catalans but was prone to mistakes that sometimes cost his team. Nonetheless, on his day, it took something special from the opposition strikers to find the back of the net.
Ter Stegen kept 4 clean sheets against Madrid. He is 3 away from the all-time record of most clean sheets in El Clasico history : Victor Valdes 7. https://t.co/9qUNpfIozd
Valdes was supposed to leave Barcelona for AS Monaco as a free agent but the French team pulled out after he picked up an injury. The following winter transfer window in 2015, United got involved and signed the Spaniard to serve as a back-up for his Spanish compatriot David De Gea.
He only made two appearances for the Red Devils in the Premier League. Victor Valdes called it quits on his career in 2017 while at Middlesbrough. His market value at the time was £1.8 million. Even though a few clubs from Spain were interested in his services, should he prolong his career, the Spaniard decided against it.
#4 Stéphane Ruffier - £1.8 million
A fringe figure in the debate for the best Ligue 1 goalkeepers in history, Stephane Ruffier deserves a special mention on that list and many French football fans would agree. The Frenchman played in his country for the entirety of his career and retired as recently as January 2021.
He will definitely go into the hall of fame for Ligue 1 club Saint-Etienne, where he made 383 appearances in all competitions before retiring. Before joining them, Ruffier played for AS Monaco and also managed 117 appearances for them between 2005 and 2011. In total, he has kept 193 clean sheets in both domestic and continental competitions.
As a result, even at 34 when Ruffier was retiring, his market value was a decent £1.8 million just like Valdes. He wore the captain's armband for Monaco in 2010.
Stéphane Ruffier has been sacked by Saint-Ettiene after a legal battle with the club.
Ruffier, who has the most appearances in the clubs history, was dropped by Claude Puel and reportedly refused to be the back up goalkeeper and was banned from the training ground.
😳😳😳 https://t.co/bSPHdGyLCn
With the French goalkeeper injured, Monaco had real problems in keeping clean sheets and in his absence they were relegated. He had been linked with Premier League sides like West Ham United and Everton in the past and one can assume a move then would have commanded a greater fee.