Former Brazil No1 weighs up Alisson and Ederson amid fierce Golden Glove battle

Former Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar has refused to pick a favourite between Liverpool's Alisson and Manchester City's Ederson.

The Brazilian stoppers are widely regarded as two of the best goalkeepers on the planet right now. The two are battling it to be their country's No1 at this year's World Cup in Qatar, with Alisson often preferred by manager Tite to his Premier League rival.

The Liverpool ace was Brazil's No1 when they lifted the Copa America in 2019 - winning the competition's Golden Glove award - and was named the best goalkeeper in the world by FIFA in 2019. He also won the Premier League Golden Glove in 2018-19.

In terms of trophies, Alisson has won every competition he's competed in at Liverpool. He's lifted the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup during his four-year spell - and could win even more trophies yet.

Liverpool have reached this season's Champions League final and will take on Real Madrid in Paris on May 28. They're also still in the hunt for the Premier League title, sitting four points behind leaders City with a game in hand.

Aiming to stop Alisson is Ederson. The two-time Premier League Golden Glove winner hasn't won everything in England - nor does he boast the same individual honours - yet he's on course to win a fourth league title in five years at City this term. Guardiola's trusted stopper has also won four EFL Cups, two Community Shields and the FA Cup.

Who is the better goalkeeper? Let us know in the comments below!

In truth, it's often difficult to choose between Ederson and Alisson - with them both keeping 20 clean sheets in the league this season - and Cesar has struggled on this occasion. "Great question, I will stay quiet!" replied the ex-goalkeeper when asked by GOAL for his choice.

Cesar is one of the greatest Brazilian stoppers of his generation, winning 87 senior caps between 2004 and 2014. The former Inter Milan star, who has a spot in the club's Hall of Fame, was named European Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009-10.

Cesar won 30 trophies during his incredible career - including five Serie A titles, three Portuguese titles, three Italian Cups, two Confederations Cups, the Champions League, Club World Cup, Copa America and the Portuguese Cup.

On the current high standard of Brazilian goalkeeping, Cesar added: "In the last years, after Dida and me, the people in European football started to look for our position in Brazil as an important position.

"When I arrived in Italy, there was talk about Waldir Perez in 1982 [a goalkeeper who made high profile mistakes in a World Cup]. They said I was an example that goalkeepers in Brazil were getting better. I was like, 'no, Brazil has always had great goalkeepers.' Now, you guys have just started to respect our position.

"Now, if we talk about the best three goalkeepers in the world, we could talk about Ederson and Alisson. It isn't just those two but there are many others in Europe. Most people respect Brazilian goalkeepers in football now... when you talk about goalkeepers for the World Cup, Tite doesn't need to worry about either of those two."