Manchester City Sign Geronimo Rulli for Goalkeeping Experience

Manchester City have turned to a familiar face to reshape their goalkeeping department, agreeing a £1.7m deal to sign Argentina international Geronimo Rulli from Marseille.

The 34-year-old returns to Etihad Stadium on a two-year contract, eight years after his first spell at the club in 2016-17, when he failed to make a first-team appearance. This time, the brief is clear: provide seasoned, high-level backup and a steady hand behind undisputed number one Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Rulli replaces England goalkeeper James Trafford, who left earlier this week to join Leeds in a move worth up to £45m. Trafford’s departure created both a squad vacancy and a shift in the goalkeeping hierarchy. City have opted against another expensive project and instead gone for a proven veteran who has lived most of the big moments the game can offer.

Those moments include one of the most dramatic nights in recent European history. Rulli was at the heart of Villarreal’s 2021 Europa League final triumph over Manchester United, calmly converting his own penalty in the shootout before saving from opposite number David de Gea to seal the trophy in Gdansk. A goalkeeper deciding a major European final with boot and gloves – it was a snapshot of his temperament as much as his technique.

His CV is thick with European experience. Rulli has played for Real Sociedad in La Liga, Montpellier in Ligue 1 and Ajax in the Eredivisie, as well as his recent spell at Marseille. Across those stops he has seen different systems, different demands, different kinds of pressure. City are not buying potential; they are buying certainty.

On the international stage, Rulli has eight caps for Argentina and a place in two of the most cherished squads in the nation’s history. He was part of the group that lifted the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2024 Copa America, a double that hardened an already experienced professional and embedded him in a winning culture at the very highest level.

For City, the signing is about balance. Donnarumma remains the clear first choice. Behind him now stands a World Cup-winning understudy who has navigated elite dressing rooms and penalty-shootout chaos, and who knows exactly what it means to wait, prepare and be ready for the one moment when everything suddenly depends on him.