Guardiola gains more in goal than he loses outside of it with Donnarumma

30 million euros. That's the price of signing who was arguably the best goalkeeper in Europe last season, Gianluigi Donnarumma. It is, of course, the consequence of a peculiar and hardly repeatable situation. A situation that Manchester City have masterfully exploited to reinforce arguably their weakest position in the last two seasons.

The most striking thing is that Paris Saint-Germain forced the 26-year-old Italian out due to a fixed idea of Luis Enrique that is common with Pep Guardiola: playing out from the back. A fixation that led the Santpedor native to scour the goalkeeping market during his career in search of having an eleventh outfield player. Manuel Neuer was his best exponent, but it all started with Víctor Valdes and would also shape Claudio Bravo or Ederson Moraes, with whom he established himself until his fall and subsequent departure this summer. That's why it's ironic that it's his Manchester City, with such high demands in their area, that are betting on 'Gigi'.

In the end, the logical answer is that it is a market opportunity. The Sky Blues were one of the few European giants that needed a replacement in goal. And although they already signed a youngster like James Trafford, the ex-Burnley player is yet to prove himself. With Donnarumma, they find a super-elite goalkeeper at a bargain price. In fact, he has been cheaper than the Englishman (31.2 million euros), with whom he will now have to compete. Pep's challenge will be to prove Luis Enrique wrong and show that he can adapt to his idea.

The data is clear. Without being the best season for either of them, Ederson and Stefan Ortega recorded in 2023-24 between 19 and 24% more successful passes per 90 minutes than the Italian, who averaged 17.31, compared to 22.82 for the Brazilian and 21.58 for the German. And it's not just a matter of styles, Luis Enrique also wants to go in the same line as Pep, but he didn't see himself in a position to demand as much from his goalkeeper as it happens at Manchester City.

With more precision and confidence, the 'Sky Blues' were allowed to take more risks and thus overcome more lines, with an average of 3.54 and 3.78 successful long passes respectively. The Brazilian is indeed the best of the three in successful progressive passes: 3.19, compared to 2.91 for his competitor last season. Donnarumma stayed at 2.28 in long and 1.63 overcoming lines, although by risking less, he also averaged fewer losses (1.84) than Ortega (2.83) and the '31' (2.91), recently signed by Fenerbahce after eight seasons at the Etihad Stadium.

The comparison of the three with Lucas Chevalier, Donnarumma's replacement at PSG, justifies the change in this matter. With Lille, the French international averaged almost five successful long passes and 3.49 successful progressive passes per 90 minutes, substantially more than the rest. Presumably, 'Gigi' will have to learn to come out of his box more - the map shows him very close to the goal, while Ederson lived from the penalty spot onwards - and trust himself more.

Or perhaps it will be Pep who, remembering old disasters like that against Benzema in 2022, ends up adapting his way of doing things to an intermediate point where the Castellammare di Stabia native is not so pressured. In the end, even if the Spanish coach has to give up part of his ideals, he gains more in goal than he loses in distribution.

A Capital Leap in Goalkeeping Prowess

Neither Ederson, far from his level of yesteryear, nor a Stefan Ortega who never convinced, were holding up the 'Cityzen' goal anymore. No matter how much they fulfilled the profile 100%. Instead, they take a Donnarumma who, if he manages to maintain his version of last season and stays away from the 'bloopers', competes directly with the Courtois or Alisson of the moment. In fact, it is foreseeable that he will win the 2025 Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper in the world at the next Ballon d'Or gala. In the Champions League he was a spectacle, saving PSG against Liverpool, Aston Villa or Arsenal, also shining in penalties.

The summary is simple: he improves what he had in all aspects except on the ball. He is eight centimetres taller than Ederson (1.96 tall) and consequently, more secure in the air (1.17 high claims on average compared to 0.66 for the Brazilian last season). He wins more duels (81.58%) and comes from exhibiting himself as a pure shot-stopper. 2.24 saves per 90 minutes, with a 72.44% of shots on target stopped and a ratio of 2.63 saves per goal conceded. The now Fenerbahce goalkeeper recorded 60.87% and 1.56 in this last season so disastrous for Manchester City, but the year of the treble (22-23) was at 67.57%.

With a top-level goalkeeper, Guardiola continues in his line of building the successes of Manchester City from the back. The offensive talent served him to win everything in England, but he did not become a giant in Europe until he found the key to the centre-backs and raised his defensive level. Donnarumma finds an opportunity at the Etihad Stadium to show Luis Enrique that he too could follow his path.