Goalkeepers with the most titles in history

The goalkeeper position is a very unique one in football, and in one way or another, it can be considered unfair, so it's not easy to establish yourself, especially at a big club. To win numerous titles, it's usually important to have a long career at one or more of the major clubs, and that's something that characterizes this list. As a criterion we only consider the top-tier trophies (i.e., no lower division trophies) and bigger youth tournaments.

Victor Valdes - 24 titles

The Catalan Victor Valdes is a product of La Masia, the famous FC Barcelona academy, where he made his professional debut in 2002 and quickly became the dominant force in the Catalan club's goal. The truth is that almost from his debut, Valdes managed to maintain consistency and play in the majority of matches; in fact, except for his debut season and his final season with Barcelona, he always played at least 40 matches per season. His time at the Catalan club coincided with the most successful era in Barcelona's history, and from there he won numerous titles-21 to be precise, including three UEFA Champions League titles and six Spanish league titles.

In 2014, he moved to Manchester United, although he didn't lift a single trophy, coinciding with a less than promising period for the Red Devils. Interestingly, he would be loaned to Standard Liège in 2016 and there he would win a title, the Belgian Cup. He was also part of two of the three consecutive successes of the Spain national team, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 Euro.

Peter Schemeichel - 24 titles

While he already had a successful career in his native Denmark, having played for Gladsaxe-Hero (in his hometown) and Hvidovre, it was at Brøndby where he gained notoriety and began to win his first titles, four league titles and a cup to open his professional career. In 1991, he made the leap to Manchester United, where he would gain worldwide fame as one of the best goalkeepers and also fill his personal trophy cabinet with 15 more trophies, including five Premier League titles and the 1999 UEFA Champions League.

After his time with the Red Devils, he had spells with Aston Villa (with whom he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup), Sporting Lisbon (where he won the Portuguese league and the Super Cup), and Manchester City (where he won nothing; those were different times). However, despite these successes, the one that possibly makes Schmeichel most proud was the 1992 Euro that he surprisingly won with Denmark.

Edwin Van der Sar - 27 titles

His first steps in professional football were at an Ajax that dominated the Netherlands and that reached the top of Europe and the world, winning all the national titles several times and also the UEFA Cup, the Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup (a former cup played between the best teams from Europe and South America). In 1999, after almost a decade at Ajax, he almost signed for Manchester United who had just lost Schmeichel but ended up joining Juventus, where he only won the Intertoto Cup, which he would later also win with Fulham. He closed his career at Manchester United where he won 11 titles including the 2008 Champions League and four Premier Leagues, three of them consecutive.

Gianluigi Buffon - 27 titles

The Italian started out at Parma, during a time when the club was enjoying a successful run, winning three titles, most notably the 1999 UEFA Cup. In 2001, he became the most expensive goalkeeper in history at the time when he signed for Juventus, beginning a 17-year spell that saw him win 21 titles. It's worth remembering that during that time, they played in Serie B for a season due to the Calciopoli scandal, which also resulted in Juventus losing two Serie A titles. He concluded his career with a spell at at Paris Saint-Germain (winning two domestic titles), and then returned to Italy to play for Juve and Parma. In 2006, he was crowned World Cup champion with Italy.

Franco Armani - 27 titles

Although he had a rather inconspicuous start to his career, playing for Ferro and Deportivo Merlo, his move to Colombia's Atletico Nacional in 2010 marked a turning point in his career. It's true that he didn't make many appearances in his early years in Colombia, but in 2013 he became a starter and remained there until 2017, when he moved to River Plate, where he remains. With the Colombian club, he won 13 trophies, most notably the 2016 Copa Libertadores. Meanwhile, with River Plate, he has 10 titles, winning another Copa Libertadores in 2018. In 2018, he began to be included in the Argentina national team squad, coinciding with what has been a very successful period for the South American country, with four titles (FIFA World Cup, two Copa America, and the Finalissima).

Keylor Navas - 27 titles

In 2014, after a great World Cup and his signing for Real Madrid, the Costa Rican goalkeeper rose to international fame and began an era of success for him, both during his time with Real Madrid and later at PSG. At Real Madrid, he lifted 11 trophies, including three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles, and with the Parisian side, he won 10 more titles, although these were all at the national level. What is sometimes forgotten is that at his first professional club, Deportivo Saprissa, he was crowned champion six times.

Vitor Baia - 31 titles

The Portuguese goalkeeper's 19-year career spans two clubs: FC Porto and FC Barcelona. He spent two and a half years at the Catalan club, splitting his time at Porto into two stints. At Barcelona, he won five trophies during that time, but at the Portuguese club, he grew tired of lifting trophies during his two spells. These are summarized as ten Portuguese league titles, five cups, and eight Super Cups, but that's only at the national level, as in Europe, he also won the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the Intercontinental Cup.

Manuel Neuer - 32 titles

Finally, we have the goalkeeper with the most titles in history, and surprisingly, he's still playing. The German has spent much of his extensive career with Bayern Munich, which, logically, has contributed to his enormous number of trophies in his trophy cabinet. It's no secret that the Bavarian club is the absolute dominant force in German football, and that has allowed Neuer to win 12 Bundesliga titles, five DFB Pokals, six German Super Cups, two UEFA Champions Leagues, two European Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups.

He also won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany in Brazil. It is hard to remember him not playing in Bayern Munich but the fact is that he also won titles with Schalke 04 before that, titles that helped him becoming the goalkeeper with the most titles. These titles are the DFB Pokal he won in 2011 and the DFL Ligapokal (a tournament that is no longer played) in 2005.