In three weeks Manchester City sold their backup goalkeeper for a reported initial forty million pounds and bought another one for around two million euros. James Trafford, twenty-three, went to Leeds. Gerónimo Rulli, thirty-four, arrived from Marseille on 12 August. Same role, same seat on the bench, two economies with nothing in common.
The two deals side by side
| Item | James Trafford | Gerónimo Rulli |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 23 | 34 |
| Move | Manchester City to Leeds | Marseille to Manchester City |
| Reported fee | 40 million pounds initially, up to 45 | up to 2 million euros |
| Contract | five years | two years, with an option reported in the press |
| Appearances last season at City | five across Premier League and Champions League | not applicable |
| Clause | sell-on percentage kept by City | none reported |
The young deputy is an investment, not a reserve
Trafford spent a season in Manchester behind Gianluigi Donnarumma, signed in 2025 from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported twenty-six million pounds while Ederson moved to Fenerbahce. Five games across league and Champions League, some involvement in the domestic cups, then a move to Leeds for a fee that became the English club’s outright record.
This is the first model of second-choice goalkeeper: a twenty-three-year-old with a market of his own. You do not keep him on the bench in order to use him, you keep him because he is growing there and his value rises while he waits. He is an asset, complete with a sell-on percentage retained by the selling club.
It has a structural flaw, though: a young, highly rated goalkeeper wants to play, and sooner or later he asks to leave. The bench of a leading club is the worst place to develop a twenty-year-old, because goalkeeper is the one position with no partial rotation. You do not come on for half an hour: you play or you do not.
The experienced deputy is a service
Rulli arrives with a different résumé: Estudiantes, Real Sociedad, Montpellier, Villarreal, where he won the 2021 Europa League in a final decided on penalties against Manchester United, then Ajax and Marseille, where he has made sixty-three appearances since 2024. With Argentina he has eight caps and has been to two World Cups as a reserve, the most recent ending in a final lost to Spain and played by Emiliano Martínez.
This is the second model: a thirty-four-year-old professional who knows exactly what his role is and does not dispute it. He is cheap, he will never produce a capital gain and he will not make noise. The value he brings is not financial but organisational: if the first choice goes down in November, the team does not have to change the way it plays.
Why the role has changed
There is a technical reason behind this split, and it concerns what a goalkeeper does today with the ball at his feet.
When the number one is part of the build-up, his replacement does not only have to make saves: he has to receive with his back to his own goal, wait for the opposition press and find the free man with the same timing. If he cannot, the team that plays with its second goalkeeper becomes a different team, one that skips the first phase and stretches the game long. He is not a reserve for the goalkeeper, he is a reserve for the system.
That is why clubs prefer a veteran with hundreds of European appearances to a promising youngster: the deputy role calls for immediate reliability, not room to grow. And if you have room to grow at home, it is better sold.
The third case: the first choice who leaves to play
The same window contains a third variant, and it belongs to Marc-André ter Stegen. Thirty-four years old, Barcelona’s captain, he has joined Ajax on loan until 30 June 2027, with no purchase option.
Here nobody is buying a deputy: a displaced first choice is being moved. A straight loan is the instrument that lets the parent club avoid writing down the asset and lets the player avoid a whole season in the stands. It is an admission, written in contractual language, that for a goalkeeper of that level a year as number two is a year wasted.
Three deals, three logics, one role. The next time a club spends forty million on a goalkeeper who will not play, the useful question is not whether it is too much: it is which of the three models is being bought.
Sources: official club communications, English, Spanish and Dutch sports press, public career archives. Transfer fees are press reports and should be read as indications rather than official contractual data.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Manchester City's new backup goalkeeper?
Gerónimo Rulli, an Argentine born on 20 May 1992 and 1.89 metres tall, signed from Marseille on 12 August 2026. He will be Gianluigi Donnarumma's deputy.
What did Rulli cost, and what did Trafford leave for?
Rulli is reported at up to two million euros, with around 1.75 million fixed. James Trafford joined Leeds for a reported initial forty million pounds, rising to forty-five with add-ons and with a sell-on percentage kept by City.
Why would a club pay so much for a goalkeeper who does not play?
Because a young goalkeeper is not only a reserve, he is a sellable asset. An experienced goalkeeper who accepts the deputy role is a service instead: cheap to sign and unlikely ever to generate a profit.
What does a modern backup goalkeeper need?
The ability to do what the first choice does with the ball at his feet. If the number one is part of the build-up, his replacement has to repeat those duties, otherwise the team changes the way it leaves its own half whenever the goalkeeper changes.
Where does ter Stegen fit into this?
He is the opposite case: a 34-year-old goalkeeper, Barcelona's captain, joining Ajax on loan until 30 June 2027 with no purchase option. A displaced first choice looks for minutes elsewhere while his club keeps control of the registration.
