Thibaut Courtois

Lore & Background

Courtois set a new Atlético Madrid record of 820 minutes without conceding a goal at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, a run ended by a 1–0 loss to Real Sociedad. He was named man of the match in the 2013 Copa del Rey Final, a 2–1 victory against Real Madrid that marked the first time Atlético had beaten their city rivals in 14 years. By conceding the fewest goals during the 2013–14 season, Courtois won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy and made an important contribution to Atlético's 2013–14 La Liga title, their first since 1996. Atlético reached the 2012 UEFA Europa League final, where Courtois kept a clean sheet in a 3–0 win over Athletic Bilbao. The club also reached the 2014 UEFA Champions League final, losing 4–1 after extra time against Real Madrid on 24 May in Lisbon.

Reader's Guide

Courtois began his career with Genk and made his senior debut in 2009 at age 16. He joined Chelsea in 2011 for a reported €9 million but was immediately loaned to Atlético Madrid. Over three seasons on loan, he won the Europa League (2012), the Copa del Rey (2013), and the La Liga title (2013–14). He was nominated for the La Liga Award for the best goalkeeper in the league alongside Willy Caballero and Keylor Navas, which Navas eventually won. Courtois returned to Chelsea in 2014 after his loan spell ended.

Did You Know?

• Courtois received his first red card of his professional career on 26 November 2011 after fouling Real Madrid's Karim Benzema for a penalty in the Madrid derby.
• A reported clause in Courtois' contract would have required Atlético to pay Chelsea €3 million per match if he played against them in the Champions League semi-final, but UEFA declared it 'null, void and unenforceable'.