Most Clean Sheets in Manchester City History: The goalkeepers with the most clean sheets in Manchester City history are the unsung architects of the club’s greatest eras. Strikers score the headlines. Goalkeepers keep the points.
From Victorian-era heroes to Premier League giants, Manchester City has been served by some truly exceptional shot-stoppers across 130 years of football.
Manchester City’s rise to the summit of English and European football was built on defensive solidity as much as attacking brilliance.
Pep Guardiola understood that clearly. He signed Ederson in 2017 and transformed the goalkeeper’s role entirely. But long before Ederson, City had keepers who served the club with equal distinction across very different eras.
Top 10 Most Clean Sheets in Manchester City History
These ten men kept more clean sheets for Manchester City than anyone else in the club’s history.
1. Joe Corrigan
- Clean Sheets: 185
- Career Span: 1967–1983
- Games Played: 602
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 30.7%
Joe Corrigan is Manchester City’s all-time clean sheet record holder. He kept 185 shutouts across 602 appearances during a 16-year career at the club.
He is also one of the most loyal servants in the club’s entire history. He spent his entire professional career at City, serving through the highs and lows of the 1970s and early 1980s. He was not always first choice early in his career. He fought for his place, earned it, and never let it go.
His 602 appearances remain one of the highest totals in the club’s history. His 185 clean sheets across that span is a record that has stood for over four decades.
Achievements:
- 185 clean sheets in 602 appearances, the all-time Manchester City record
- Served the club for 16 consecutive seasons between 1967 and 1983
- Three England international caps during his career
- One of the most dependable keepers in the club’s history across multiple decades
- Club appearance record holder for many years
2. Ederson
- Clean Sheets: 160
- Career Span: 2017–2025
- Games Played: 372
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 43.0%
Ederson has the best clean sheet percentage of any goalkeeper on this entire list. He kept a shutout in 43% of his games, which is an extraordinary number across 372 appearances.
He joined from Benfica in 2017 for £35 million. At the time, some questioned the fee for a goalkeeper. Those doubts lasted about three games. His distribution was revolutionary. He changed how Manchester City played from the back. His ability to act as a sweeper keeper and launch attacks with pinpoint accuracy gave Guardiola a completely new dimension.
He left City in 2025 after eight trophy-laden seasons. His 160 clean sheets came in just 372 games, a rate no other City goalkeeper has ever matched.
Achievements:
- 160 clean sheets in 372 appearances, the best ratio on the all-time list
- Clean sheet percentage of 43.0%, the highest of any goalkeeper in City’s history
- Six Premier League titles during his time at the club
- Champions League winner in 2023
- Two FA Cups and four League Cups with City
- Multiple Premier League Golden Glove awards during his career
3. Joe Hart
- Clean Sheets: 137
- Career Span: 2006–2017
- Games Played: 348
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 39.3%
Joe Hart kept 137 clean sheets in 348 appearances for Manchester City. His clean sheet percentage of 39.3% is the second best on this list, behind only Ederson.
He was the face of Manchester City’s rise under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini. During his peak years from 2011 to 2016, he was widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League. He won the Golden Glove four times in a row, a record that still stands.
His City career ended when Pep Guardiola arrived in 2016 and chose not to use him. That decision remains one of the most debated in Premier League history.
Achievements:
- 137 clean sheets in 348 appearances, third on the all-time list
- Clean sheet percentage of 39.3%, second highest in City’s history
- Two Premier League titles with Manchester City
- FA Cup winner with City in 2011
- Four consecutive Premier League Golden Glove awards
- England’s first-choice goalkeeper for over a decade during his peak
4. Frank Swift
- Clean Sheets: 102
- Career Span: 1933–1949
- Games Played: 338
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 30.1%
Frank Swift kept 102 clean sheets in 338 appearances. His career spanned World War II, which wiped out seven years of competitive football. Without that interruption, his total would have been considerably higher.
He was one of the most charismatic goalkeepers English football has ever produced. Tall, commanding, and naturally gifted, he became one of the first true personality keepers in the game. He went on to become a football journalist after retiring, covering the 1958 Munich Air Disaster for the News of the World. Tragically, he died in the crash.
Achievements:
- 102 clean sheets in 338 appearances, fourth on the all-time list
- FA Cup winner with Manchester City in 1934
- First Division title winner in 1937
- Career interrupted by World War II, making his total even more impressive
- England international, earning 19 caps after the war
- Died in the 1958 Munich Air Disaster while working as a journalist
5. Bert Trautmann
- Clean Sheets: 98
- Career Span: 1949–1964
- Games Played: 545
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 17.9%
Bert Trautmann’s story is one of the most remarkable in football history. He was a German prisoner of war who stayed in England after 1945 and became one of the greatest goalkeepers Manchester City ever had.
His clean sheet percentage of 17.9% is the lowest on this list, but his 545 appearances across 15 seasons tell a much broader story. He served the club faithfully through an era when defensive records were not as strong as the modern game.
His defining moment came in the 1956 FA Cup final. He played the final 15 minutes with a broken neck. He did not know it was broken at the time. City won 3-1. It is one of the greatest acts of courage in sporting history.
Achievements:
- 98 clean sheets across 545 appearances for Manchester City
- FA Cup winner in 1956, playing the final stages with a broken neck
- Voted FWA Footballer of the Year in 1956, the first non-British player to win the award
- Served the club faithfully for 15 consecutive seasons
- One of the most iconic figures in Manchester City’s entire history
- Subject of a feature film released in 2018 documenting his extraordinary life
6. Nicky Weaver
- Clean Sheets: 71
- Career Span: 1997–2007
- Games Played: 207
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 34.3%
Nicky Weaver kept 71 clean sheets in 207 appearances for Manchester City. His clean sheet percentage of 34.3% is genuinely impressive and places him third on the all-time ratio list behind Ederson and Hart.
He burst onto the scene as a young keeper during City’s years in the lower divisions. His penalty shootout heroics in the 1999 Second Division play-off final at Wembley became one of the most celebrated moments in the club’s history. He saved two penalties as City beat Gillingham to win promotion.
Achievements:
- 71 clean sheets in 207 appearances, sixth on the all-time list
- Clean sheet percentage of 34.3%, third best in the club’s history
- Hero of the 1999 Second Division play-off final at Wembley
- Served the club across a turbulent period that included relegation and promotion
- England Under-21 international during his peak years at the club
7. Charlie Williams
- Clean Sheets: 66
- Career Span: 1894–1902
- Games Played: 232
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 28.4%
Charlie Williams kept 66 clean sheets in 232 appearances at the turn of the 20th century. He was one of the earliest heroes in Manchester City’s history.
He served the club during its formative years, long before City became the global football brand they are today. Goalkeeping in the 1890s was a completely different discipline. There were no specialist gloves, no modern coaching methods, and no video analysis. Williams delivered consistently regardless.
Achievements:
- 66 clean sheets in 232 appearances, seventh on the all-time list
- One of the founding figures of Manchester City’s goalkeeping tradition
- Served the club during its formative Victorian era
- Clean sheet percentage of 28.4% across a physically demanding era of football
8. Jim Goodchild
- Clean Sheets: 61
- Career Span: 1911–1926
- Games Played: 217
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 28.1%
Jim Goodchild served Manchester City for 15 years. He kept 61 clean sheets in 217 appearances and was a reliable, steady presence through the difficult years of World War I, when competitive football was again suspended.
His career total would have been significantly higher without those lost wartime seasons. He remains one of the most loyal servants in the club’s early 20th century history.
Achievements:
- 61 clean sheets in 217 appearances, joint eighth on the all-time list
- Served the club for 15 consecutive years between 1911 and 1926
- Career interrupted by World War I
- A loyal and dependable presence during one of the club’s most turbulent periods
8. Harry Dowd
- Clean Sheets: 61
- Career Span: 1961–1970
- Games Played: 219
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 27.9%
Harry Dowd is level with Goodchild on 61 clean sheets, achieving that total in 219 appearances between 1961 and 1970. He was part of the Manchester City squad that won the First Division title in 1968 under Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison.
He also made football history in a peculiar way. In 1964, he became one of the only outfield substitute appearances ever made by a goalkeeper in English football, scoring a goal against Bury after coming on as an emergency striker.
Achievements:
- 61 clean sheets in 219 appearances, joint eighth on the all-time list
- First Division title winner with Manchester City in 1968
- FA Cup winner with City in 1969
- Part of Joe Mercer’s celebrated late 1960s Manchester City squad
- Made history as one of the few goalkeepers to score as an outfield player in English football
10. Tony Coton
- Clean Sheets: 55
- Career Span: 1990–1995
- Games Played: 195
- Clean Sheet Percentage: 28.2%
Tony Coton rounds out the list with 55 clean sheets in 195 appearances across five seasons. He was one of the most popular goalkeepers of his era and a firm fan favourite at Maine Road.
He was a vocal, commanding presence in goal. His shot-stopping was reliable. His organisation of the defence was a key factor in City’s competitive performances during the early Premier League years. An injury ended his City career prematurely in 1995.
Achievements:
- 55 clean sheets in 195 appearances, tenth on the all-time list
- One of Manchester City’s most popular goalkeepers of the early Premier League era
- Consistently strong performer during a challenging period for the club
- Career at City ended by injury in 1995 before he could add significantly to his tally
Who Has the Best Clean Sheet Percentage?
Ederson’s 43.0% is the best percentage on this entire list. He kept a clean sheet in nearly half of every single game he played.
Joe Hart sits second on 39.3%. During his peak years from 2011 to 2014, his ratio was even higher than his career average. Nicky Weaver’s 34.3% is the third best, a number that deserves far more recognition in discussions about City’s greatest goalkeepers.
FAQs
Q: Who holds the record for most clean sheets in Manchester City history?
Joe Corrigan. He kept 185 clean sheets in 602 appearances between 1967 and 1983. His record has stood for over four decades.
Q: Which City goalkeeper has the best clean sheet percentage?
Ederson. He kept a shutout in 43.0% of his games across 372 appearances between 2017 and 2025. No other City goalkeeper comes close to that percentage.
Q: How many clean sheets did Joe Hart keep for Manchester City?
137 clean sheets in 348 appearances, giving him a clean sheet percentage of 39.3%. He also won the Premier League Golden Glove four consecutive times.
Q: What is the most famous story involving a City goalkeeper?
Bert Trautmann playing the final 15 minutes of the 1956 FA Cup final with a broken neck. City won 3-1. He only discovered the injury days later. It remains one of the greatest acts of courage in sporting history.
Q: How does Ederson’s City record compare to Corrigan’s?
Corrigan leads on total clean sheets with 185 to Ederson’s 160. But Ederson achieved his total in 230 fewer games and has a far superior percentage of 43.0% compared to Corrigan’s 30.7%.
Conclusion
The goalkeepers with the most clean sheets in Manchester City history protected this club across 130 years of football. From Charlie Williams in the 1890s to Ederson in the Premier League era, every name on this list gave City something invaluable.
A clean sheet is a foundation. It keeps your team in the game. It shifts momentum. It gives your strikers time to find the net.
Corrigan did it 185 times. Ederson did it with extraordinary efficiency. And every goalkeeper on this list left a lasting mark on one of English football’s greatest clubs.
Data Note: Data sourced from verified football statistics platforms and club records.
