Thibaut Courtois

Thibaut Courtois is a Belgian footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a goalkeeper.

The 6ft 7ins goalkeeper started his professional career at Belgian club Genk in 2009.

Courtois then moved to Chelsea FC in an £8m deal from Genk in the 2011 summer transfer window.

The Blues wasted no time loaning out Courtois to Atletico Madrid, where he spent three seasons before returning to Stamford Bridge.

Thibaut then established himself as Chelsea FC’s first-choice goalkeeper in 2014, and has continued as Real Madrid’s number one between the posts since his move to the Spanish club.

Courtois made his senior Belgium debut in 2011 before firmly establishing himself as the Red Devils’ number one goalkeeper.

Genk

Although Courtois is today recognised as one of Europe’s best goalkeepers, Courtois actually began his career with local side Bilzen VV as a left-back.

Thibaut Courtois (Photo: Thibaut Courtois / Instagram)

He ended up playing as a goalkeeper after he moved to Genk at the age of seven in 1999.

He helped Genk to win the Belgian title in 2010-11. Thibaut ended up making 45 appearances for the club before he moved to Chelsea FC in a £9m deal in July 2011.

Atletico Madrid

The Premier League club made the decision to immediately loan Courtois out to Atletico Madrid after his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

Thibaut was tasked with filling the void left by David De Gea after Manchester United signed the shot-stopper in an £18m deal in 2011.

Thibaut Courtois at Stamford Bridge (Photo: Thibaut Courtois / Instagram)

Courtois made his debut for Atletico in a 4–0 Europa League victory over Vitoria de Guimarães on 25 August 2011.

Courtois established himself as Atletico’s first-choice goalkeeper but received his first red card in a loss to Real Madrid in his first El Clasico.

Thibaut ended the season on a positive note after the goalkeeper helped los Rojiblancos to win the Europa League crown thanks to a 3-0 win against Athletic Bilbao.

Courtois extended his loan stay at Atletico Madrid for another season in July 2012.

The Belgian shot-stopper then helped Diego Simeone’s side to win the Uefa Super Cup with a 4-1 win over his parent club Chelsea FC.

Courtois set a new Atletico Madrid record when he managed to avoid conceding a goal for 820 minutes at the club’s home stadium Vicente Calderon.

The Belgian goalkeeper extended his loan stay for a third season ahead of the 2013-14 season. Courtois was a key member of the Atletico team who won the La Liga title for the first time since 1996.

He helped Atletico to concede just 26 goals in 38 games to finish three points ahead of Real Madrid in the title race.

Courtois was controversially selected to face Chelsea FC in the Champions League semi-finals. Atletico won 3-1 on aggregate to reach the final before a 4-1 loss to Real Madrid.

Chelsea FC

Thibaut finally returned to Chelsea FC in the summer of 2014.

Jose Mourinho made the Belgium international his number one goalkeeper ahead of long-serving shot-stopper Petr Cech.

Thibaut Courtois with Diego Costa during their Chelsea FC days (Photo: Thibaut Courtois / Instagram)

Thibaut made his Chelsea FC debut in a 3-1 win against Burnley in their opening Premier League game of the season. A week later, he kept his first clean sheet as the club’s number one goalkeeper in a 2-0 win over Leicester City.

The Belgian shot-stopper helped Chelsea FC to ease to a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final at Wembley in 2015.

Courtois finished the 2014-15 season with 74 saves in 32 games in the Premier League to help Chelsea FC get their hands on the Premier League title.

Thibaut made a disappointing start to his second season at Stamford Bridge following a 1-0 loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield before he received a straight red card in a 3-1 defeat by Swansea in their season opener.

He was condemned to three months on the sidelines when he suffered a leg injury in early September.

Courtois made his return to the Chelsea FC team for their 1-0 loss to Bournemouth on 5 December before a 2-1 defeat at Leicester to result in Mourinho’s dismissal.

Thibaut was shown his second red card of the season in Chelsea FC’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

He finished the season with 66 saves in 23 starts in the Premier League.

(Photo: Thibaut Courtois / Instagram)

Courtois remained as Chelsea FC’s first-choice goalkeeper following the appointment of Antonio Conte as the club’s new manager in summer of 2016.

He kept his first clean sheet in 13 attempts in Chelsea FC’s 3-0 win against Burnley in August 2016.

Thibaut was crucial throughout Chelsea FC’s 13-game winning run that allowed the Blues to build a commanding lead at the top of the table.

Courtois won his second Premier League title when the Blues were 1-0 winners at West Brom on 12 May 2017.

The Chelsea FC shot-stopper made a strong start to the season despite the defending champions’ inconsistent form.

He helped Chelsea FC to reach the Champions League round of 16 after the Belgian goalkeeper made 15 saves in six group-stage fixtures.

Fresh speculation in January 2018 suggested that La Liga giants Real Madrid were still interested in signing Chelsea FC shot-stopper Courtois.

He won the FA Cup for the first time thanks to Chelsea FC’s 1-0 win against Manchester United in May 2018.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid finally completed a deal to sign Courtois from Chelsea FC in August 2018, initially on a six-year contract.

Courtois helped Real Madrid to win the La Liga title in the 2019-20 campaign as well as the Supercopa de Espana that same season.

International Career

Thibaut made his senior Belgium debut in a goalless draw with France at Stade de France. He was the youngest-ever goalkeeper to represent the Red Devils.

Thibaut Courtois with Eden Hazard during their Chelsea FC days (Photo: Thibaut Courtois / Instagram)

Courtois started the 2014 World Cup campaign as Marc Wilmots’ first-choice shot-stopper. He played in every minute of Belgium’s run to the World Cup quarter-finals before an admirable 1-0 loss to runners-up Argentina.

He featured in every single minute of Belgium’s Euro 2016 qualifying campaign to help book their place in France before missing the final two qualifiers.

Courtois and Belgium reached the Euro 2016 last eight before a 2-0 loss to Wales.

At Euro 2020, Courtois made five appearances for the Red Devils before they were dumped out by Italy in the quarter-finals.

Personal Life

Thibaut comes from a sporting family with a rich tradition in volleyball. Indeed, his older sister Valerie Courtois is a volleyball player for Belgium. His parents were also successful volleyball players.

Courtois has an impressive knack for languages. He speaks Dutch and French, as well as Spanish and English.

Thibaut Courtois with Anthony Joshua (Photo: Thibaut Courtois / Instagram)

Thibaut Courtois – Did You Know?

• Courtois was named Goalkeeper of the Year and Genk’s Player of the Year after keeping 14 clean sheets in 40 league matches in their title-winning season.

• In his opening 22 matches as an Atletico Madrid player, the Belgian kept 10 clean sheets.

• Courtois has more than eight million followers on Instagram.