Gigi Buffon has just brought the curtain down on a glorious career – but will the Italian icon be remembered as the greatest shot-stopper in history?

So, Superman has finally hung up his cape. On Wednesday afternoon, Gianluigi Buffon announced his retirement, bringing an end to an incredible, 23-year career. The tributes have been flooding in, with some esteemed judges labelling the Italy icon as the greatest goalkeeper of all time.

But is Buffon really the best shot-stopper we've even seen? Does he really rank above his legendary compatriot Dino Zoff? Or Iker Casillas, who won it all at international and club level? And what about Lev Yashin, the man who set the standard that all goalkeepers have since strived to meet?

Below, GOAL counts down the finest goalkeepers in football history…

10Peter Shilton

When it comes to longevity, no top goalkeeper can compare with Peter Shilton, who spent just over three decades in between the sticks. Indeed, he was still England's first-choice goalkeeper at Italia '90, even though he was 40 at the time.

These days, he's probably best known for remaining very bitter about being beaten by Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' but that simply should not overshadow the fact that, at the peak of his powers, Shilton was a truly exceptional shot-stopper, the last line of defence in the Nottingham Forest side that won back-to-back European Cups, in 1979 and 1980.

Shilton remained at the pinnacle of his profession though the 1980s and only called time on his incredible career in 1997, some 31 years after he'd broken into the Leicester City team.

AdvertisementGetty9Edwin van der Sar

Despite his height (6'5''/1.97m), Edwin van der Sar was one of the first of a new breed of goalkeepers who were excellent with the ball at their feet. Indeed, Manuel Neuer subsequently admitted that he was inspired by the Dutchman's daring distribution of the ball.

Van der Sar was a part of the wonderful Ajax team that won the Champions League in 1995 and even though a subsequent switch to Juventus did not work out well, he resurrected his career at Fulham before then moving to Manchester United, with whom he tasted further Champions League glory in 2008.

Indeed, it was Van der Sar who decided the final in the Red Devils' favour by stopping Nicolas Anelka's penalty in the shootout, after making several crucial saves in open play that deservedly earned him the player of the match award.

The former Netherlands international would go on to become the oldest player to win the Premier League, at the age of 40, in 2011.

Getty Images8Iker Casillas

A prodigious talent with wonderful reflexes that Manuel Almunia once likened to those of a cat, Iker Casillas broke into the Real Madrid starting line-up at just 18 years of age, and he was still only 19 when he helped Los Blancos win the 2000 Champions League final.

The Spaniard would go on to become a regular for both club and country for over a decade, becoming the captain of the greatest international side the game has ever seen, which helped him win the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award for five successive years between 2008 and 2012.

Casillas led La Roja to two European Championships and one World Cup, and by the time he left Madrid for Porto in 2015, he had won another two Champions Leagues, thus confirming his status as one of the game's greatest ever goalkeepers.

As Buffon said of his great rival, "Honestly, I don't have to use up many words to say how good he is, the results are there for all to see."

Getty7Peter Schemeichel

A goalkeeper of incredible size, strength and agility, Peter Schmeichel was a nightmare for attackers – who struggled to find a way past the giant Dane and his trademark 'star jumps' – and an inspiration for all young goalkeepers. Indeed, Casillas cites Schmeichel as his role model.

The Manchester United legend was also renowned for his long, accurate throws, which he used to launch counter-attacks to devastating effect, as well as his organisational skills. Schmeichel never shied away from letting his defenders know if they were out of position!

Love him or loathe him, though (Roy Keane thought his former United team-mate was a "a poser"!), Schmeichel was a pure winner. He claimed 15 trophies during his time at Old Trafford but his greatest feat was helping Denmark stun the footballing world in 1992 by winning the European Championship in Sweden.