Geronimo Rulli Returns to Manchester City for £1.7m

Manchester City have turned to a familiar face to reinforce their goalkeeping ranks, agreeing a £1.7m deal to bring Argentina international Geronimo Rulli back to the Etihad Stadium from Marseille.

The 34-year-old has signed a two-year contract, returning to a club where he was once on the books but never seen in a competitive game. He spent the 2016-17 season registered with City without making a first-team appearance, a footnote in his career that now gains a far more substantial second chapter.

This time he arrives with a heavyweight CV.

Rulli etched his name into European football folklore in the 2021 Europa League final, when Villarreal outlasted Manchester United in a remarkable penalty shootout. The goalkeeper not only converted his own spot-kick but then denied David de Gea to seal the trophy, a defining image of his club career.

On the international stage, he has collected eight caps for Argentina and has been part of two title-winning squads at the very top level, serving in the group that lifted the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America. He may not have been the headline act in those triumphs, but he has lived inside dressing rooms that know how to win.

His journey back to Manchester has wound through some of Europe’s more demanding leagues. Rulli has guarded nets for Real Sociedad in La Liga, Montpellier in Ligue 1, Ajax in the Eredivisie and most recently Marseille, gathering experience in contrasting styles and high-pressure environments.

Now he returns to the Premier League older, hardened and decorated, stepping into a City squad that demands reliability as much as it craves silverware. The first time, he passed through the Etihad almost unnoticed. The second time, there will be nowhere to hide.