Manchester City Sign Geronimo Rulli as Donnarumma's Deputy

Manchester City have turned to a familiar name to solve their goalkeeping puzzle, striking a €2m (£1.7m) agreement to bring Geronimo Rulli back to the Etihad as understudy to Gianluigi Donnarumma.

James Trafford’s £40m switch to Leeds earlier this week left a vacancy behind City’s No 1. The response from the champions was swift. No drawn-out saga, no uncertainty. Within days, they had locked in a World Cup-winning goalkeeper on a two-year deal.

Rulli arrives from Marseille, where he has spent the last two seasons as the club’s regular starter. At 34, he is not a project for tomorrow but a ready-made deputy for today: experienced, battle-tested, and comfortable under the glare that comes with a club chasing every major trophy.

This will technically be his second spell on City’s books. The first passed almost unnoticed. Signed in 2016, he never pulled on the shirt in a competitive game, immediately loaned to Real Sociedad before the Spanish side made the move permanent. His City career existed on paper, not on grass.

Since then, he has taken the long road back. Real Sociedad, Montpellier, Villarreal, Ajax, Marseille. Different leagues, different demands, the same steady figure in goal.

His standout night came in Gdańsk in 2021. Villarreal against Manchester United in the Europa League final, a penalty shootout stretching into sudden death. Rulli stepped up, scored his kick, then denied David de Gea to deliver the trophy. Goalkeeper as match-winner, not just shot-stopper.

On the international stage, his medal collection looks even more imposing. Rulli was part of Argentina’s World Cup-winning squad in 2022 and the group that finished runners-up this summer. He did not play a minute in either tournament, but he has lived inside a dressing room that knows how to navigate the highest pressure in the sport.

For City, that matters. Donnarumma is the undisputed first choice, yet the modern game punishes any weakness in depth. Injuries, fixture congestion, domestic cups, training ground standards — the No 2 goalkeeper touches all of it.

Rulli steps into that role with a career’s worth of experience and a point to prove at a club where his first spell never truly began. Now he finally has the chance to make it real.