Manchester City Reunite with World Cup Winner Rulli
Manchester City have turned to a familiar face to refresh 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 never made a first-team appearance and slipped quietly back into European circulation. This time, he arrives with a heavyweight CV and a medal collection that commands attention.
Rulli steps in as the replacement for England goalkeeper James Trafford, who left earlier this week for Leeds in a move worth up to £45m. Trafford’s departure created a vacancy behind undisputed number one Gianluigi Donnarumma; City have chosen experience, nerve and know-how to fill it.
Few goalkeepers in Europe can point to a moment as dramatic as Rulli’s in Gdansk in 2021. In the Europa League final for Villarreal against Manchester United, he strode up to take a penalty in the shootout, buried it, then turned executioner at the other end, saving from David de Gea to settle a marathon contest. It was the night he went from solid professional to European cult hero.
Since that first, fleeting association with City, Rulli has built a career across the continent. He became a fixture at Real Sociedad, had a stint in France with Montpellier, then moved on to Ajax and Marseille, collecting experience in La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie, and handling the pressure that comes with big clubs and big expectations.
On the international stage, he has eight caps for Argentina and, crucially, has lived inside a winning dressing room at the very highest level. He was part of the squads that lifted the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America, training daily with elite teammates, absorbing the standards required to stay at the summit.
For City, the numbers tell their own story. Trafford’s sale for up to £45m and Rulli’s arrival for £1.7m represent a significant profit swing while maintaining depth behind Donnarumma. The Italian remains the long-term cornerstone; Rulli’s job is clear: push him, protect him, and be ready the moment his name is called.
He returns to Manchester older, hardened and decorated. The first time, he was a footnote. The second time, he walks through the door as a World Cup winner, a European final match-winner, and the man trusted to stand guard if anything happens to City’s number one.
