Do you have some deep pockets and cash to spend? Then this Sorare blog post might be something for you. If you are more like me, handsome but broke, it still might be interesting.
In the real world, Kepa, the Chelsea flop, is the most expensive goalkeeper in history. He won't be on this list because he has no cards minted.
Fortune favors the bold. For this article, we're looking at the prices of the last sales of rare cards.
1. Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
I don't think Alisson needs much introduction. Brazilian international goalkeeper, and player for Liverpool. Incredible Sorare stats and apparently the most expensive goalkeeper on Sorare. His price does seem unreasonably steep, doubling the price of the next goalkeeper on this list, Donnarumma. Or maybe the other cards are still "cheap" to pick up. I don't know. The reason might be that there are only 81 rare cards minted so far.
I'll add some lesser-known facts about the goalkeeper. His family is of German descent, giving him the nickname "The German" when he played in AS Roma. His nickname at the moment is "The Holy Goalie", Alisson is a devout Pentecostal Christian, hosting baptism in his swimming pool.
As you know, we have a soft spot for goalscoring goalkeepers. Here he is scoring the winner against West-Brom in 2021.
2. Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)
The Italian superstar Donnarumma began his career with AC Milan in 2015, becoming the second-youngest goalkeeper ever to debut in Serie A, aged 16 years and 242 days. Widely regarded as the heir of Buffon. His transfer to PSG was controversial, to say the least. He left AC Milan for free for the Qatarese dollars. I remember his one-handed save on Kevin De Bruyne's attempt in the EURO2020. Single-handedly knocking Belgium out of the Euro. (I also want to point out I'm not and native English speaker but I am pretty proud of this pun.)
Although he's an excellent goalkeeper, he is in rotation with Keylor Navas, making him play roughly 50% of the matches. So you are paying top dollar for a starting goalkeeper.. but not really.
3. Diogo Costa (Porto)
At the start of the 20–21 season, Costa inherited Porto's nr 99 shirts, made famous by goalkeeper and club legend Vítor Baía. Costa had a run as a first-choice goalkeeper when Marchesín was sidelined with an injury. His career really took off last season, Costa was chosen as the first-choice goalkeeper by the head coach Fernando Santos for the World Cup qualification play-offs, relegating usual starter Rui Patrício (AS Roma) to the bench. Take in mind that his price is probably a bit inflated because he's still eligible for -U23.
4. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
I'm a frequent visitor of r/soccer on Reddit and you can't believe the shit this goalkeeper has to endure online. And i'm not even talking about the summer he transferred from Chelsea to Real Madrid, or the first supposedly 'mediocre' season he played, taking Keylor Navas's spot.
I'm glad he's properly valued on Sorare at least.
After his amazing performance in last season's Champions League, beating PSG, Chelsea, and Man City, and defeating Liverpool in the final. He put the respect to his name he needed. He's 30 years old, peak goalkeeper age, and many more years before him.
5. Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
We have a post online about AC Milan. Maignan had some very big shoes to fill, literally and figuratively. When Milan lost Gianluigi Donnarumma they lost a keeper with good shot-stopping ability, but he was not that good with his feet and hence the Rossoneri management saw a chance to upgrade. In came Lille’s Mike Maignan, who was signed after data analysis. The Frenchman can be categorized as a real ‘Moneyball’ signing given that he cost just €13m as an initial fee. If you haven't seen the movie Moneyball, I suggest you do. Before sweeper keepers and ball-playing goalkeepers, their primary job was simply to keep the ball out of the net. Maignan has proven he has the best reflexes in the country by winning the Golden Glove in Serie A, keeping 18 clean sheets.
6. Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam / Watford)
Okaya's price very recently rose as he's moving to the Championship very soon. Watford is an interesting team as they have the quality to promote to the Premier League, they finished second last year. A goalkeeper of a good team is always a good idea in Sorare. He's also still eligible for -U23.
I think this is a very good example of prices in euro/dollar over time compared to ETH over time. Something to always double-check when spending a large amount.
Check these stats.
7. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munchen)
Getting older and older every season, 36 years old now. They say "age is a state of mind" but it's clear his utility is running thin. Manuel Neuer is getting closer and closer to the inevitable: retirement. His current contract ends on 30 June 2024. Manuel Neuer has revealed he will retire from football when he ‘no longer feels needed’ by Bayern Munich and Germany. Although the goalkeeper is delivering great performances, Neuer does not plan to play much longer for Germany. „It’s still a great honor for me and I’m happy to be part of the team. But I don’t aim to be in goal for the German team by 2024 or beyond.“
8. Maarten Vandevoordt (RC Genk / RedBull Leipzig)
David made a blog post about RC Genk's goalkeepers a few weeks ago. In Genk, they already know that this will be the last season for Maarten Vandevoordt because the goalkeeper will move to Red Bull Leipzig in 2023. A lot of ink has been spilled about Vandevoordt, I'll let the management of RB Leipzig do the talking:
"By attracting Maarten Vandevoordt, we were able to secure a top transfer for the future at an early stage and in the long-term planning of the squad we were able to fill the immensely important position of goalkeeper with excellent prospects." -Christopher Vivell, Technical Director of RB Leipzig.
9. Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb)
This is a very interesting number 9 on our list. 27 years old, only 34 rare cards minted so far, and very good utility. Contract till 2024. Livakovic is the (mostly) starting goalkeeper for the national team Croatia and the top Croatian team Dinamo Zagreb. After the disappointing performances of Lovre Kalinić, Livaković became Croatia's first-choice goalkeeper for the Euro2020 qualifying campaign. There are some rumors about him moving to bigger clubs and he himself has also stated that he wants to try his luck somewhere else, but nothing really so far. Lazio is a rumor but also a lot of other players are being linked to the Italian club. Livakovic wants to play at the World Cup in Qatar so leaving a stable position six months before the start of the world cup is always risky.
10. Unai Simon (Athletic Club)
Finishing the top 10 is the Spanish number one goalkeeper Unai Simon. Only 25 years old, he's a starter for the national team and Athletic, which is always interesting for us Sorare managers. Yet his utility is less than some other keepers further down the list. Athletic has the policy to only recruit Basque players. Interesting as it is, it also does shackle Bilbao in their recruitment. The first 7 teams in La Liga are eligible for European games. Athletic struggles to reach the first 7, so Simon has no utility in the European games.
Bonus, some very big names are not included in this list. To list a few:
A limited card of Patrick Zubczuk was very recently bought for 5ETH, that's 5844 euros. I always immediately think of some money laundering operation when I see stats like this. Unfortunately, it was an auction, the buyer made the mistake between ETH and fiat currency. Painful but yeah, Zubczuk had a spot among the most expensive goalkeepers on Sorare at the moment.
Lloris, Lafont, and Mamardashvili are placed just outside the top 10. Kepa, no cards minted, reserve goalkeeper but won't be on the bench forever.
Ederson, no cards minted.
De Gea, no cards minted. Oblak has had a mediocre season, with high scores alternating low scores. Onana's story is well known, he joined Inter this summer.
Keylor Navas, plays about half of the games at PSG, getting older.
Ter Stegen, seems a bit underpriced compared with the rest of the list.