Manchester City Signs Gerónimo Rulli to Replace Trafford

Manchester City have dipped into the past to solve a very modern problem, agreeing a €2m deal with Marseille to bring Gerónimo Rulli back to the club as cover in goal.

He is 34 now, a World Cup winner with Argentina and fresh from a solid spell in Ligue 1. The first time he signed for City, in 2016 from Deportivo Maldonado, he never got close to the first team and left without a senior appearance, eventually moving permanently to Real Sociedad. This time, the plan is far clearer.

Trafford out, Rulli in

The move is a direct response to James Trafford’s departure. Trafford has joined Leeds United in a £45m transfer, chasing the one thing he was unlikely to get at the Etihad: regular Premier League minutes.

His path was effectively blocked last summer when Gianluigi Donnarumma arrived. Trafford still played his part, helping City lift both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, but the writing was on the wall. A young England goalkeeper with ambitions of being a No 1 was never going to settle for the bench.

City’s answer is pragmatic. Rulli comes in as a low-cost, highly experienced understudy, trusted to keep standards high in training and step in when required. Crucially, the club hierarchy believe he has the build-up quality and composure with the ball at his feet to fit seamlessly into Enzo Maresca’s possession-heavy blueprint.

An old connection, a new role

This is not a romantic homecoming. It is a calculated squad move.

Rulli has just completed two seasons at Marseille, making 73 appearances and reinforcing his reputation as a reliable, technically sound goalkeeper. He was also part of Argentina’s 2026 World Cup squad, further underlining the level at which he has been operating.

At City, he will work under a familiar face to the club’s supporters: Willy Caballero. The former City goalkeeper is now part of Maresca’s coaching staff and will oversee Rulli’s integration into the training ground routine. Between Caballero’s knowledge of the club’s demands and Rulli’s experience in European football, City expect a smooth transition.

His arrival also follows the re-signing of Pierce Charles from Sheffield Wednesday, with the young keeper immediately loaned out to QPR. The pathway is obvious: Donnarumma as undisputed No 1, Rulli as the seasoned deputy, and Charles developing elsewhere.

Quiet rebuild behind the headlines

The Rulli deal drops into a summer of controlled uncertainty at the Etihad.

City are braced for potential exits, with Rodri linked to Barcelona and interest building around Savinho and Tijjani Reijnders. Those stories will dominate headlines if they accelerate, but inside the club there is equal focus on making sure the squad’s foundations are secure.

That is where a move like Rulli’s matters. Title challenges and deep runs in Europe are rarely built only on blockbuster signings. They are held together by the players who step in for three weeks in January, who start away in the League Cup, who keep the dressing room calm when the fixtures pile up.

Maresca’s first look at his new keeper

Rulli is due to link up with the squad once they return from their pre-season tour of Hong Kong and South Korea next week. The timing is tight but deliberate.

Players who went deep into the World Cup are scheduled to report for their first training session under Maresca on Wednesday, with an open training session set for Thursday. Those days will be intense. The new manager has a narrow window to sharpen tactical cohesion and lock in his squad before the campaign begins.

Rulli will walk into that environment not as a project, not as a star, but as a specialist solution: a goalkeeper who understands his role, can play City’s way, and has waited a decade to finally pull on the shirt in a competitive game.

The first time, he passed through Manchester without leaving a trace. The second time, City expect him to leave fingerprints all over a season that could yet reshape the squad around him.