Manchester City Sign Geronimo Rulli as Donnarumma's Backup

Manchester City have turned to a familiar name to solve their goalkeeping reshuffle, striking a €2m (£1.7m) agreement for Geronimo Rulli to step in as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s new understudy.

The deal, a relatively modest outlay by City’s standards, follows quickly on the heels of James Trafford’s departure to Leeds in a move worth an initial £40m. Trafford’s exit opened a hole in Pep Guardiola’s depth chart. City have wasted no time filling it.

Rulli will sign a two-year contract at the Etihad Stadium after two seasons as Marseille’s first-choice goalkeeper. At 34, he arrives with a bulging CV and a career that has taken in some of Europe’s most demanding environments.

This will technically be his second spell on City’s books. The first one barely left a trace. Signed in 2016, he never made an appearance, was immediately loaned to Real Sociedad and then sold permanently to the Spanish club. His path back to Manchester has been anything but straightforward.

From San Sebastián he built a reputation as a brave, front-foot goalkeeper, then added further chapters at Montpellier and Ajax. The defining moment of his club career so far came with Villarreal, where he helped deliver the Europa League in 2021 in unforgettable fashion against Manchester United – both scoring and saving a penalty in the epic shootout.

On the international stage, Rulli has lived in the shadows of others yet still collected the medals. He was part of Argentina’s World Cup-winning squad in 2022 and returned this summer as a runner-up, though he did not play a minute in either tournament.

Now comes a different kind of challenge. No parade of headlines, no promise of the No 1 shirt. Just the task of supporting Donnarumma, pushing him in training, and standing ready when called.

For City, the price is low, the experience high, and the margin for error in a long season vanishingly small. Rulli’s second chance in sky blue will not come with fanfare, but it may yet arrive in a decisive moment.