Péter Gulácsi (born 6 May 1990) is a Hungarian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

. Gulácsi began his career at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

but did not make a senior appearance, spending loan spells at

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

, and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

. In 2013, he joined Red Bull Salzburg, where he won a domestic double twice, namely the

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

and

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for a record 27th time. Wo ...

. He later moved to

in 2015, becoming a key figure in their rise to the

and

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

contention, and playing a pivotal role in securing the club's first-ever

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

title. At the international level, he had represented Hungary in multiple major tournaments, featuring in

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe organised by the Union of E ...

, and

Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by U ...

Club career

Liverpool

signed Gulácsi from

MTK Budapest Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre (Hungarian for "Hungarian Circle of Physical Practitioners") is a multi-sports club from Budapest, founded in 1888. It has sections for football, handball, basketball, volleyball, futsal, ice hockey, water polo, cycl ...

on a one-year

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

in 2007, with the player competing in the treble winning reserve team. Liverpool had an option to buy him at the end of this loan deal, which they exercised on the last day of the transfer window, 1 September 2008. Gulácsi was the third person to sign for Liverpool from MTK, with previous signings

András Simon András Simon (; born 30 March 1990) is a Hungarian footballer who plays for Csákvár in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II of Hungary. He is the twin brother of Ádám Simon, also a footballer. Career Born in Salgótarján, Nógrád County, Simon s ...

and Krisztián Németh. On 29 July and 5 August 2010, he was the substitute goalkeeper in both of Liverpool's

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

ties against Rabotnički, with Liverpool winning 2–0 on both occasions. He also found himself on the bench on 26 August in Liverpool's Europa League tie against

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

. He was a frequent presence on the subs bench in January 2011, with Brad Jones away at the

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

. With Jones still away at the Asian Cup, Gulácsi was the substitute keeper for their 1–0 Premier League win over Chelsea at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

. Gulácsi retained his spot as back-up to

Pepe Reina José Manuel "Pepe" Reina Páez (; born 31 August 1982) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The son of famed Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, Pepe Reina began his career with the Barce ...

after Brad Jones returned from international duty, with the Aussie goalkeeper going to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

on a loan transfer in March 2011. In the 2009 January transfer window, Gulácsi was loaned to

, where he made his league debut. He went on to make 18 league appearances for the club. On 16 April 2010, Gulácsi joined

on an emergency seven-day loan deal and made his debut for the club on 17 April against

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in a 3–1 win for Tranmere. His loan was subsequently extended for an additional seven days and into a third week. He re-joined Rovers on a one-month emergency loan on 17 September 2010 after Tranmere's two experienced goalkeepers Gunnar Nielsen and Simon Miotto were ruled out with injuries His loan period was extended into a second month until 24 November 2010.

Hull City (loan)

On 19 July 2011, he signed a new contract with Liverpool and joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

team

in a year-long loan move. He made his full debut for Hull in a start of the season clash against recently relegated

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

at the

KC Stadium The MKM Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kingston upon Hull, England. It has a current capacity of 25,586. The stadium is home to both association football club Hull City A.F.C. of the EFL Championship and rugby league club Hull F.C. of ...

. He received a knee injury in a 1–0 defeat at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

on 31 December 2011 and was substituted for

Adriano Basso Adriano Basso (born 18 April 1975) is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach. Basso began his playing career in his native Brazil befor ...

on the 42nd minute mark, shortly after conceding a goal, scored by

Martin Paterson Martin Andrew Paterson (born 10 May 1987) is a former professional footballer who is the assistant head coach of club Huddersfield Town. Born in Stoke-on-Trent, he played as a forward; he began his career with Stoke City, making his senior ...

, as a result of a defensive mix-up with

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882 – 21 December 1963) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is widely regarded ...

. Following the injury, Gulácsi returned to Liverpool for a scan on his knee. On 11 April 2012, Liverpool contacted Hull with a view to recalling Gulácsi from his loan subject to Premier League, Football League and FA approval. Liverpool were at that time suffering a goalkeeper crisis, with both

and Doni serving suspensions, leaving Brad Jones as their only remaining senior goalkeeper. He finished his time with Hull City with 15 appearances.

Return to Liverpool

The loan recall was approved and Gulácsi took his place on the bench for the FA Cup semi-final, which Liverpool won 2–1. He featured in all three of Liverpool's pre-season games in North America.

Red Bull Salzburg

On 7 June 2013, Red Bull Salzburg announced they had signed Gulácsi on a free transfer from Liverpool on a four-year deal. He played his first match in Salzburg's colours in the

ÖFB-Cup The Austrian Cup (), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for a record 27th time. W ...

, against Union St. Florian from the third division, at an eventual 9–0 away win. On 20 July 2013, he made his debut in the

against

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

at an eventual 5–1 away win.

RB Leipzig

2015–2020: 2. Bundesliga to Champions League semi-finals

On 1 July 2015, Gulácsi transferred to

, the sister club of Red Bull Salzburg, for a fee of 3 million pounds. He finished the 2015–16 season by making 15 appearances for the first team and two appearances in the

Regionalliga Nordost The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of German football league system, German football in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These comprise the states of former East Germany ...

for the reserve team. On 17 December 2017, Gulácsi signed a new contract with RB Leipzig. His contract with the club would have expired in 2020 but he prolonged it by 2022. He finished the 2016–17 season with 34 appearances. Gulácsi was selected as the best goalkeeper of the autumn part of the

2017–18 Bundesliga The 2017–18 Bundesliga was the 55th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 18 August 2017 and concluded on 12 May 2018. The fixtures were announced on 29 June 2017. Following an offline test phase in the ...

season by the German sport magazine ''

Kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

''. He finished the 2017–18 season with 47 appearances. According to leading German sports magazine ''Kicker'', Gulácsi performed best in the Bundesliga's 2018–19 season matchday ratings with an average score of 2.61 and 16 clean sheets. In the 2019–20 season, Gulácsi made history by qualifying as the first Hungarian for the

semi-finals, the first time ever for RB Leipzig.

2021–present: Club captaincy

Following the departure of Marcel Sabitzer, Gulácsi was appointed as the new club captain. On 7 May 2021, Gulácsi signed a contract extension with Leipzig, keeping him at the club until 2025. On 23 May 2022, Gulácsi helped Leipzig claim their first piece of major silverware in club history in winning the

. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, Gulácsi forced two misses in the penalty shoot-out. On 5 October 2022, he tore the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

in his right knee, in a 3–1 win against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in the Champions League, which forced him to miss the rest of the season. On 27 September 2023, he returned from his injury and played a whole match against Wehen Wiesbaden in the

, which ended with a 3–2 away victory for Leipzig. On 4 February 2024, he played his first Bundesliga match in a 2–0 victory over

Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as Union Berlin (), is a professional Football in Germany, German football club based in Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweide was fo ...

on game week 20 of the 2023–24 season, returning to the starting line-up after a lengthy absence. In December 2024, he was rated as the best goalkeeper of the first half of the

2024–25 Bundesliga The 2024–25 Bundesliga was the 62nd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier men's Association football, football competition. The season began on 23 August 2024 and concluded on 17 May 2025. Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Bayer Leverkusen were the def ...

season by ''Kicker''.

International career

Youth

Gulácsi was Hungary's hero against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in the FIFA U20 World Cup in the penalty shootouts. In the third place match between Hungary and Costa Rica at the 2009 FIFA U20 World Cup, he saved three penalties during the penalty shoot-out, leading his team to victory and bronze medals.

Senior

Gulácsi debuted for the

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

on 22 May 2014 in a 2–2 friendly draw against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He was selected for Hungary's

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

squad, serving as understudy to

Gábor Király Gábor Ferenc Király (; born 1 April 1976) is a Hungarian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In his 25-year-long playing career, Király spent most of his career in Germany and England. He signed for Hertha BSC in 199 ...

. After Király's retirement from the national team in August 2016, Gulácsi became Hungary's starting goalkeeper, playing in every match during the

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

campaign. On 1 June 2021, Gulácsi was included in the final 26-man squad of Hungary for the rescheduled

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

tournament. He played all three

Group F Group F may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...

matches as the Hungarians lost to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and drew with both

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. On 23 September 2022, Gulácsi made his 50th appearance for Hungary, keeping a clean sheet against Germany in a 1–0

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

fixture at Leipzig's Red Bull Arena. His cruciate ligament injury in October saw

Dénes Dibusz Dénes Dibusz (born 16 November 1990) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper and captain for Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Ferencváros. Club career Ferencváros On 20 May 2015, Ferencváros beat Videoton 4–0 at the Gr ...

replacing him in the goalkeeper section for the

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2023 to March 2024 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams that would join the automatically qualified host team Germany in the UEFA Eur ...

campaign, with the Hungarians going unbeaten throughout 2023. Gulácsi returned to the Hungarian line-up on 22 March 2024, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

at the

Puskás Aréna Puskás Aréna () is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium in the Zugló, 14th district (Zugló) of Budapest, Hungary. The stadium's construction started in 2017 and was finished before the end of 2019. It is an all-seater with a capacity o ...

. On 14 May 2024, Gulácsi was named in Hungary's squad for

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

. He was selected to start ahead of Dibusz by coach Marco Rossi for the team's opening

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

match against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

which they lost 3–1. On 23 June, he kept his first clean sheet at a major international tournament as Hungary beat

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

1–0 in Stuttgart. Gulácsi retired from international football in May 2025.

Outside football

In 2021, a post on Gulácsi's Facebook page expressed his wish to join the Family Is Family campaign in Hungary, a campaign that promotes acceptance of same-sex marriage and

LGBT rights in Hungary Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Hungary face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Homosexuality is legal in Hungary for both men and women. Discrimination on the basis of sexual ori ...

. Former Hungary international player

János Hrutka János Hrutka (born 26 October 1974) is a Hungarian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He represented the Hungary national team internationally between 1998 and 2002. He was a member of the 1. FC Kaiserslautern team whi ...

stood by Gulácsi. Subsequently, Hrutka was fired from the TV channel Spíler TV he was working for as a commentator.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg *

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

: 2013–14, 2014–15 RB Leipzig *

: 2021–22

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, runner up: 2018–19,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Hungary U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

third place:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Individual *''

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

Team of the Season: 2018–19, 2024–25 * Hungarian Footballer of the Year (Golden Ball): 2018, 2019 * ''The Athletic'' Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2024–25