Man City agree £1.7m deal to sign Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli
Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from Marseille for £1.7m, the club announced on 2026-08-08. The 34-year-old has signed a two-year contract and returns to the Etihad Stadium, where he spent the 2016-17 season without making a first-team appearance.
Rulli was a central figure in Villarreal's 2021 Europa League final win over Manchester United, scoring a penalty and then denying opposite number David de Gea to decide the shootout. He has won eight caps for Argentina and was part of the squads that won the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America. His club career has included spells at Real Sociedad, Montpellier and Ajax.
The signing is intended to replace England goalkeeper James Trafford, who left Manchester City to join Leeds in a deal worth up to £45m earlier this week. Rulli will serve as understudy to number one Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Manager Enzo Maresca will make the decision to choose the next Manchester City captain himself and also wants an English player in the leadership group, sources have told BBC Sport. The vacancy arose after ex-skipper Bernardo Silva's departure on a free transfer to Real Madrid this summer. The current leadership group consists of Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland and Rodri, who has been the subject of a bid from Barcelona.
Phil Foden, Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly are the English players who could be in contention to step up into that particular committee, sources said. Former boss Guardiola appointed Silva as captain last season but prior to that, a players' ballot was held to choose the man to take the armband. The Spaniard took the decision to decide the captaincy himself after saying "I didn't like what happened", external when Kyle Walker asked to leave and joined AC Milan in January 2025.
Rulli's arrival fills the vacancy left by Trafford and places an experienced international goalkeeper in the squad as Donnarumma's deputy; Maresca will now make the formal decision on the club's next captain and on the composition of the leadership group, sources told BBC Sport.
