Football Manager 2019: Best Bargain Goalkeepers

Finding a reliable, quality goalkeeper is one of the toughest things to do in Football Manager. It can take years to nail down your #1, and even the most promising of young players can fail to develop into good goalkeepers. So if you have a tight budget, what can you do?

The best bargain goalkeepers in Football Manager 2019

This article will look at the best bargain goalkeepers in FM 19. These players can be bought for an initial fee of under £5 million, though you may have to use add-ons like future instalments or per appearance payments. However, those add-ons do not impact your transfer budget like the initial payment does, so it's a good way of getting round a particularly tight budget to improve your squad. All these goalkeepers are reliable players with a current ability over 130.

For a full list of ALL the best cheap goalkeepers see the table at the bottom of the page.

Willy Caballero (CA 140 - PA 151)

Age: 36

Club: Chelsea

Country: Argentina

Best Attributes: Reflexes (16), Rushing Out (16), Command Of Area (15)

Value: £3.1 million

Wage: £30,000 a week

Willy Caballero started his career with Boca Juniors in Argentina, but came to Europe in 2004 with Spanish club Elche. He spent seven years with them in the second tier of Spanish football before joining Malaga in La Liga. In 2014 he came to the Premier League with Manchester City and was mostly the #2 there. He joined Chelsea on a free transfer to be their veteran backup in 2017.

In FM 19 Willy Caballero isn't going to be starting for a leading Premier League side, but he does have undeniable quality that would help improve a lot of teams. He has good shot-stopping skills (16 reflexes, 16 handling, 12 one-on-ones) and is a reasonable distributor too (12 passing, 12 throwing, 12 kicking). He can organise a defence and stop crosses as well (15 command of area, 14 communication).

Vanderlei (CA 140 - PA 144)

Age: 34

Club: SAN

Country: Brazil

Best Attributes: Reflexes (16), Jumping (16), Communication (15)

Value: £2.9 million

Wage: £6,750 a week

Vanderlei has played his entire career in Brazil, starting with Londrina before eventually becoming the regular starter for Coritiba. He played over 150 games for them from 2007 to 2015 before he moved to Santos on a three year deal to be their #1 choice goalkeeper.

In FM 19 Vanderlei is a solid keeper, he can defend set pieces and crosses well (16 jumping, 15 communication, 14 command of area) and is a good shot-stopper too (16 reflexes, 15 one on ones, 15 rushing out).

Cristian Alvarez (CA 140 - PA 146)

Age: 32

Club: Zaragoza

Country: Argentina

Best Attributes: Concentration (17), Communication (15), Reflexes (15)

Value: £675,000

Wage: £4,700 a week

Cristian Alvarez started his career in Argentina with Rosario Central, but after three years with the senior team there he joined Spanish club Espanyol. He struggled to break into the first-team and ended up moving between South America and Spain for a few years before settling with Real Zaragoza in the Spanish second division last season.

In Football Manager 2019 Alvarez has a few really good mental attributes (17 concentration, 15 composure, 14 bravery) to back up his goalkeeping talents (15 reflexes, 15 communication, 14 command of area). He is also 32 which means that he doesn't have a lot of years ahead of him.

Victor (CA 138 - PA 155)

Age: 35

Club: ATM

Country: Brazil

Best Attributes: Jumping (16), Reflexes (16), Aerial Reach (15) 

Value: £1.3 million

Wage: £17,000 a week

Victor has been with just three clubs in his career. He started with Paulista in the Brazilian second tier in 2002 and played 6 years with them before moving to Gremio in 2008. He played 139 games there before making a £2.6 million move to Atletico Mineiro in 2012.

For a 35-year-old Victor has a lot of athleticism in FM 19 (16 jumping, 14 natural fitness, 13 strength). With that comes a lot of good mental attributes (15 leadership, 15 positioning, 15 bravery). He is a good shot-stopper (16 reflexes, 15 rushing out, 14 handling) and can pluck crosses out of the air (16 jumping, 15 aerial reach).

Diego Benaglio (CA 137 - PA 141)

Age: 34

Club: Monaco

Country: Switzerland

Best Attributes: Communication (16), Strength (15), Positioning (15)

Value: £3 million

Wage: £19,750 a week

Diego Benaglio started his career with grasshopper and made his professional debut there, but as a teenager moved to Stuttgart. He didn't make a first-team appearance for the German side and ended up moving to Portuguese side Nacional in 2005. After three years he returned to Germany to play for Wolfsburg and racked up over 250 appearances for them. In 2017 he joined Monaco on a three-year deal.

In FM 19 Benaglio is still a solid keeper. He has some good physical traits (15 strength, 15 jumping, 14 natural fitness) to go along with strong mental attributes (15 positioning, 15 concentration, 15 determination). Between the sticks he is good (15 handling, 14 reflexes, 14 one on ones) and he can command the box on crosses and set pieces (16 communication, 15 aerial reach, 13 command of area).

Allan McGregor (CA 136 - PA 140)

Age: 36

Club: Rangers

Country: Scotland1

Best Attributes: Positioning (18), One One Ones (17), Reflexes (16)

Value: £1.3 million

Wage: £10,000 a week

Allan McGregor joined Rangers at 16 years old in 1998 and he made his first team debut in 2002 before heading out on a number of loan spells. He returned to Rangers and became a regular for them at the start of the 2006-07 season, and only left after the liquidation of the club in 2012. Since then he had a brief stint with Besiktas in Turkey before joining Hull City and played nearly 150 games there. He returned to Glasgow in 2018 to play for his first club once more.

McGregor has a few exceptional stats (18 positioning, 17 one on ones, 16 reflexes) that really make him stand out from the crowd, but he is also less well-rounded than others. He has a few good physical traits still (15 strength, 15 balance) but he does lack aerial prowess.

Fabio (CA 136 - PA 154)

Age: 37

Club: CEC

Country: Brazil

Best Attributes: Determination (18), Jumping (16), Positioning (15)

Value: £650,000

Wage: £21,500 a week

Fabio joined Cruzeiro in 1999 but barely played before moving to Vasco de Gama for five seasons. In 2005 he returned to Cruzeiro and became the regular #1 for them. He has since amassed over 450 appearances for the club.

In Football Manager 2019 the veteran goalkeeper has several very strong mental attributes (18 determination, 15 positioning, 15 leadership) to go along with his good shot-stopping ability (15 one on ones, 15 handling, 14 reflexes).

Emiliano Viviano (CA 136 - PA 144)

Age: 32

Club: Sporting

Country: Italy

Best Attributes: Reflexes (16), One On Ones (16), Kicking (16)

Value: £800,000

Wage: £26,000 a week

Emiliano has spent most of his career bouncing around Italian football. After starting his career with Fiorentina he has spent time with Inter, Bologna, Palermo, Brescia and Sampdoria. He even had a brief loan spell at Arsenal. He moved to Sporting this summer in a £1.8 million deal.

In FM 19 Viviano has some excellent goalkeeper skills (16 reflexes, 16 one on ones, 16 command of area) that make him a useful player, but he is also mentally strong (14 bravery, 14 leadership, 14 off the ball) and can claim crosses and set pieces too (16 command of area, 15 jumping, 15 communication).

Jaume Domenech (CA 135 - PA 145)

Age: 27

Club: Valencia

Country: Spain

Best Attributes: Determination (17), Concentration (16), Reflexes (16)

Value: £3.4 million

Wage: £16,500 a week

Jaume Domenech started his career with Villarreal and had to go through four clubs before he settled in as Valencia's #2 keeper. He joined them in 2013 and was a regular for the reserve side before joining the first-team in 2015. Since then he has made just 25 appearances, but he is a very capable goalkeeper.

In FM 19 he has some excellent mental attributes (17 determination, 16 concentration, 15 bravery) that help underpin his goalkeeping talents (16 reflexes, 14 communication, 13 one on ones). He is quite young compared to others on this list and offers much more of a future. Valencia will start negotiations high but can be bought down to below £5 million.

Alfredo Talavera (CA 135 - PA 145)

Age: 35

Club: Toluca

Country: Mexico

Best Attributes: Handling (16), Communication (15), Composure (15)

Value: £825,000

Wage: £12,500 a week

Alfredo Talavera started his career with Guadalajara in 2003, but struggled to make it into their first team squad, making just 21 appearances and spending his final two years with them out on loan. In 2010 he joined his current club Toluca and he has made over 250 appearances for them. He's also won over 30 caps for Mexico.

In Football Manager 2019 he has some excellent mental attributes (15 composure, 14 concentration, 14 positioning) to help the rest of his game. He still has reasonable physical traits despite his age (14 jumping, 13 stamina, 12 strength) and solid goalkeeping stats (16 handling, 15 communication, 14 one on ones).

All the best bargain goalkeepers on Football Manager 2019