Manchester City Re-sign Geronimo Rulli as Experienced Goalkeeper

Manchester City have reached an agreement to re-sign Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from Marseille in a £1.7m deal, bringing a familiar name back to the Etihad with a very different profile.

Now 34, Rulli returns to a club where he once passed almost unnoticed. He spent the 2016-17 season on City’s books without making a single first-team appearance, a footnote in his career and in the club’s modern history. This time he arrives as a World Cup winner, Europa League hero and one of the most experienced goalkeepers on the European circuit, signing a two-year contract.

Back then, he was a prospect. Now, he is a specialist.

Rulli’s reputation was forged on one unforgettable night in Gdańsk. In the 2021 Europa League final, he stepped up for Villarreal in the epic penalty shootout against Manchester United, smashed his spot-kick past David de Gea, then denied the United keeper at the other end to seal the trophy. A goalkeeper deciding a European final with boot and gloves – it was the kind of moment that sticks in a club’s folklore and a player’s CV.

His international record adds further weight. Rulli has eight caps for Argentina and was part of the squads that lifted the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America, serving in a high-pressure environment behind one of the most scrutinised defences in world football. He was not the headline act, but he was trusted inside one of the most competitive national-team setups on the planet.

The move also caps a long, winding journey across Europe. From his standout spell at Real Sociedad in La Liga to stints with Montpellier in Ligue 1 and Ajax in the Eredivisie, Rulli has lived most goalkeepers’ careers twice over, adapting to different leagues, languages and tactical demands.

City now tap into that mileage. For £1.7m, they are not buying potential; they are buying certainty, temperament and a goalkeeper who has already stared down a European final and a World Cup training ground. The first time he wore City colours, he never got close to the pitch.

This time, he arrives with medals, scars and a very clear sense of who he is.