Peter Shilton
Goalkeeper · Nottingham Forest · England
About Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton holds the record for the most international caps for an England outfield player — 125 appearances between 1970 and 1990 — and is widely regarded as the greatest English goalkeeper of all time. He won back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest (1979, 1980) under Brian Clough, and played at three World Cups. His career spanned 31 seasons and 1,390 professional appearances, ending when he was 47 years old.
Peter Shilton's story
The Record
Shilton made his England debut in November 1970 and his 125th and final appearance at Italia '90. He captained England at the 1990 World Cup semi-final against West Germany — a match England lost on penalties. His 125 caps stood as the all-time England record for outfield players until Wayne Rooney surpassed it in 2015. He shared England goalkeeping duties with Ray Clemence across much of his career.
Clough's goalkeeper
Brian Clough signed Shilton for Nottingham Forest in 1977 for £325,000 — a record fee for a goalkeeper. Forest had just won promotion. Two years later they were European champions — winning back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980. Clough said Shilton was "the best goalkeeper in the world without question" and built his Forest side around the security a great goalkeeper provides.
Maradona's Hand
Shilton was the England goalkeeper beaten by Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal at the 1986 World Cup quarter-final — a moment he has never made peace with, publicly protesting the lack of FIFA action for decades. He has declined to shake Maradona's hand at events, maintaining that the cheating disqualified any sportsmanship gesture.
Did you know?
- 📊 He made 1,390 professional appearances across 31 seasons — the most by any outfield player in professional football history — and was still playing senior football at 47 years old.
- 🏴 His 125 England caps stood as the all-time national record for outfield players until Wayne Rooney surpassed him in 2015 — 25 years of unbroken record-holding.
- 👨👩👧👦 Married twice; has children. He settled in England and has spoken candidly about his gambling struggles.
- ✋ He was beaten by Maradona's "Hand of God" at the 1986 World Cup and has never forgiven it — publicly declining to shake Maradona's hand at public events for decades.
- 🌟 Brian Clough said of him: "Peter Shilton is the best goalkeeper in the world. He costs goals by being in goal — simply by being there, he prevents them." A different way of valuing a goalkeeper.
- ⚽ He shared England's goalkeeping duties with Ray Clemence throughout the 1970s — an unusual arrangement where two world-class goalkeepers alternated games at the insistence of different managers.
- 💰 His £325,000 transfer to Nottingham Forest in 1977 set the world record fee for a goalkeeper — the first time any goalkeeper commanded a fee of that size, reflecting the transformative value a great goalkeeper could bring.
- 🎂 He played his last professional match at 47 years and 156 days — making him one of the oldest outfield players in English football history and reflecting a fitness obsession that bordered on the legendary.
- 🥇 He was named FWA Footballer of the Year in 1978 — one of only a handful of goalkeepers to win the award — during the season Nottingham Forest won the First Division title in their first year after promotion.
Honours
- European Cup x2: Nottingham Forest (1979, 1980)
- First Division: Nottingham Forest (1978)
- England Record Caps: 125 appearances — the all-time record for an outfield position
- League Cup x4: Multiple clubs — the most by a goalkeeper in English football
- FWA Footballer of the Year: 1978
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