Manchester City Signs Geronimo Rulli for £1.7m Deal

Manchester City have turned to a familiar face to reinforce their goalkeeping department, sealing a £1.7m deal for Argentina international Geronimo Rulli from Marseille.

The 34-year-old signs a two-year contract and returns to Etihad Stadium, the club he was briefly attached to in the 2016-17 season without making a first-team appearance. Back then he was a name on the books; this time he arrives as a decorated veteran, carrying medals and scars from some of Europe’s biggest nights.

Rulli’s reputation was forged in moments of nerve and precision. He etched himself into European football folklore in the 2021 Europa League final, when Villarreal and Manchester United went deep into a marathon penalty shootout. Rulli stepped up and buried his own spot-kick, then denied David de Gea with the decisive save to deliver the trophy to the Spanish side. A goalkeeper finishing the job at both ends of the pitch – that kind of composure tends to stay in a manager’s mind.

His CV has grown steadily since he first emerged in Europe with Real Sociedad. Spells at Montpellier and Ajax added experience in different leagues and dressing rooms, sharpening the tactical understanding that top clubs now demand from their goalkeepers. With Marseille he brought that same blend of shot-stopping and calm distribution that has kept him in the Argentina frame.

Internationally, Rulli has had to battle for opportunities in a fiercely competitive position, but eight caps and a place in two historic squads tell their own story. He was part of the Argentina group that lifted the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America, training daily in an elite environment and living the pressure of tournaments where a single mistake can define a career.

For City, the timing is no coincidence. Rulli arrives days after England goalkeeper James Trafford departed for Leeds in a deal worth up to £45m, leaving a vacancy behind undisputed number one Gianluigi Donnarumma. The club needed an experienced, low-drama option who could step in when required and accept stretches on the bench without standards dropping in training.

Rulli fits that profile. He has started in European finals, sat on the bench at World Cups and navigated the churn of several major clubs. He knows what it means to be a No 2 at the highest level: always ready, rarely indulged, judged on a handful of games and countless unseen sessions.

This move will not shift City’s hierarchy in goal – Donnarumma remains the reference point – but it quietly strengthens the spine of the squad. In a season that will again stretch across four competitions, the margins between success and regret can be as thin as a fingertip on a late shot.

Rulli has built a career living in those margins. Now he gets another chance to prove it in Manchester, this time on the pitch rather than just on the paperwork.