- Planet Sport writer
- 31 July 2024
Pep Guardiola hopes Ederson will stay, amid Saudi transfer interest
Pep Guardiola has revealed that he would "understand" if goalkeeper Ederson decides to leave Manchester City to join the Saudi Pro League.
Ederson is a goalkeeper who plays for Premier League club Manchester City and the Brazil national team. Much of his international career has been spent as back-up to Alisson Becker, his Premier League rival at Liverpool.
Ederson is famed for his composure in high-risk situations and for his impressive footwork, without which it is unlikely that he would have caught the eye of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
He was the goalkeeper for Manchester City's record-breaking 2017/18 Premier League title win, which saw them pick up 100 points, and for City's 2018/19 domestic treble (Premier League, EFL Cup and FA Cup).
Time at Benfica
Ederson started his career as a youngster at Sao Paulo before moving to Portugal to join Benfica aged 16. He spent two years with Benfica before joining second division club Ribeirao in 2011.
In 2012, Ederson signed a contract with Primeira Liga side Rio Ave. There, he impressed enough to catch the eye of Benfica once again. He rejoined the club in 2015 for €500,000, and signed a five-year contract with Portugal's most successful club.
Benfica goalkeeper Ederson heads the ball away from Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during a Champions League match
Ederson started out as second-choice goalkeeper behind Julio Cesar, but after replacing him in a 1-0 Lisbon derby win over Sporting CP, he cemented his position as Benfica's number one. Ederson won the Portuguese Primeira Liga in 2015/16 and 2016/17, as well as the Taca da Liga in 2015/16 and Taca de Portugal in 2016/17.
On 1 June 2017, Benfica announced that Ederson had joined Manchester City for a reported fee in the region of £35million.
Joining Manchester City
Ederson joined a Manchester City squad which was in need of a revival. They had not won the Premier League title since 2013/14. Manuel Pellegrini had made way for Pep Guardiola, but even the legendary former Barcelona manager couldn't deliver the league title in his first season. City had finished third in 2016/17, behind Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Much of the criticism of Guardiola in his first season at Manchester City had centred around the shaky form of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who had been signed from Barcelona.
Ederson replaced Bravo as first choice and immediately vindicated Guardiola's decision to sign yet another new goalkeeper.
Manchester City were rampant in 2017/18, strolling to the Premier League title and accumulating a record 100 points. The previous record had been held by Chelsea, who picked up 95 in 2004/05.
In September 2017, Ederson needed stitches after being accidentally kicked in the head by Liverpool's Sadio Mane in a 5-0 victory over the Reds.
Ederson confirmed he had contact with Mane after the incident and offered his forgiveness to the Senegal international.
"Yes, I had contact with him, he sent me a message," Ederson said. "I told him to stay calm, those things happen inside the pitch, it could happen anytime. I told him to not worry and wished him a good season."
City also won the 2017/18 EFL Cup, with Ederson on the bench for a 3-0 final victory over Arsenal, as Bravo was given some game time. Nevertheless, in the Premier League, Ederson was the undisputed first choice goalkeeper.
In 2018/19, Manchester City faced strong competition from Liverpool for the Premier League title, but retained it on the final day of the season and also won the EFL Cup and FA Cup. Once again, Ederson was the undisputed number one in between the sticks.
Manchester City's Ederson with 2018/19 trophy
The 2019/20 season was a difficult one for City, as they lost their Premier League title to Liverpool in a season which was fragmented due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, City won the EFL Cup and Ederson won the Golden Glove for the most clean sheets over the course of the season (16).
Ederson became the first Manchester City goalkeeper to register a Premier League assist as his goal-kick was converted by Sergio Aguero in a win over Huddersfield Town early in the 2018/19 season.
Brazil caps
Ederson was called up to the Brazil U-23 team during his stint at Rio Ave and went on to earn promotion to the senior national team. He was provisionally selected for Copa America Centenario, but was removed from the squad due to injury.
Ederson made his international debut in October 2017, in a 3-0 win over Chile in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier. He was named in the 23-man squad for the tournament in Russia, but didn't make an appearance. Brazil were eliminated by Belgium in the quarter-finals.
The Manchester City goalkeeper also made Brazil's squad for the 2019 Copa America, which they won, beating Peru 3-1 in the final at the Maracana Stadium. However, he was back-up to Alisson just as he had been during the 2018 World Cup.
Personal life
Ederson, who gained Portuguese citizenship in 2016, is covered in tattoos and comes from a strong Chrisitian family. The tattoo across his chest reportedly says "I belong to Jesus".
In 2018, he set a new Guinness World Record for the longest soccer drop-kick - 75.35 metres across the Etihad Campus.
Ederson married Lais Moraes in 2014 and the couple have three children, Yasmin, Henrique and Laura.
Net worth
Ederson reportedly earns £65,000 per week at Manchester City - significantly less than the top earners at the club, with Kevin de Bruyne believed to be on £350,000 per week.
The fee which Manchester City paid in order to sign Ederson was the second most expensive ever for a goalkeeper at the time, behind only Gianluigi Buffon.
Liverpool have since paid more for Alisson Becker and Chelsea for Kepa Arrizabalaga.
ESPN have reported that Thibaut Courtois' move to Real Madrid was worth slightly more than Ederson's to Manchester City.
