Manchester City Re-sign Geronimo Rulli for £1.7m

Manchester City have turned to a familiar name to bolster their goalkeeping ranks, agreeing a £1.7m deal to re-sign Argentina international Geronimo Rulli from Marseille.

Now 34, Rulli returns to the Etihad Stadium eight years after his first spell at the club, when he spent the 2016-17 season on the books without making a first-team appearance. This time, he arrives as a decorated veteran, not a long-term project.

The goalkeeper has signed a two-year contract and slots into a squad that demands experience, composure and the ability to handle high-stakes moments. Few keepers in Europe can point to a more dramatic calling card than Rulli.

His name was written into European folklore in the 2021 Europa League final. Wearing Villarreal colours that night, he strode up to take a penalty in the shootout against Manchester United and buried it. Then, with the pressure at its peak, he denied David de Gea at the other end to seal the trophy in a marathon contest. One kick to score, one save to win it. A goalkeeper’s dream scenario, delivered on the biggest stage of his club career.

Rulli’s résumé since that first, quiet stint at City has filled out impressively. He has collected eight caps for Argentina and, crucially, been part of two era-defining squads: the group that lifted the 2022 World Cup and the one that followed it up with Copa America glory in 2024. Even as a supporting figure, training every day in that environment and living through those pressure cycles adds a layer of steel that clubs at City’s level prize.

His club journey has taken him across the continent. Before Marseille, there were spells at Real Sociedad, Montpellier and Ajax, each stop adding a different tactical education and exposure to contrasting leagues and demands. From the technical rhythms of La Liga to the physical edge of Ligue 1 and the open, attacking landscapes of the Eredivisie, Rulli has seen most of what European football can throw at a goalkeeper.

Now comes the return to Manchester, older, hardened and with medals to show for the years away. City are not signing a prospect this time. They are bringing in a proven survivor of finals, shootouts and global tournaments, a specialist in living with the weight of expectation.

The first spell passed almost unnoticed. The second will not.