RB Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi is transferring to top Spanish club FC Villarreal. The 36-year-old Hungarian signed a contract with last season’s La Liga third-place finisher that runs through the summer of 2028. Leipzig’s longtime starting goalkeeper had only extended his contract with RB in February through June 30, 2027. However, there were already signs at the Bundesliga club that Gulacsi was now expected to make way for the younger Belgian Maarten Vandevoordt.
The ambitious Gulacsi had been with RB for eleven years and 362 competitive matches, and had been the undisputed number one since the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016. He won the DFB Cup twice and the Super Cup once with the Saxon club. In February of this year, the former Hungarian national team goalkeeper suffered a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his knee, prompting coach Ole Werner to put 24-year-old Vandevoordt in goal. After returning to training, Gulacsi supported his younger teammate. In recognition of his professional conduct, he was allowed to start in goal for RB for the full 90 minutes in the season finale against SC Freiburg.