It was the summer of 2018 when Real Madrid decided to make a significant investment to strengthen their goalkeeping department, even though Keylor Navas was going strong.
The Spanish capital club splashed around €40 million (£35.5 million) to secure the services of Belgian shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea.
Since then, Courtois has scaled great heights at Real Madrid, firmly establishing himself as one of the best in the business, even though he had a difficult first year back in Spain.
The 30-year-old has been putting in clutch displays one after the other for Real Madrid and was crucial to their UEFA Champions League triumph last season, as he turned up with a spectacular performance in the finals against Liverpool.
As he gets set to take on the Reds again in Europe tonight, Mario Cortegana of The Athletic has come up with an extensive report on Courtois and how he is perceived by the club members.
The report states that Real Madrid see the signing of Courtois as a ‘historic success’ owing to everything he has done and achieved at the Santiago Bernabeu since arriving in 2018.
Since he joined the club, the Belgian international has won as many as eight trophies with Los Blancos – two La Liga titles, two FIFA Club World Cups, one UEFA Champions League trophy, one UEFA Super Cup, and two Spanish Super Cups.
Courtois signed a new contract with Real Madrid in 2021, committing his future to the Spanish capital outfit until the summer of 2026. The report outlines how the renewal was completed within a matter of minutes and was done with total discretion.
Courtois has played 25 matches in all competitions this term and has kept eight clean sheets. He has had a few injury troubles, but the 30-year-old remains one of Real Madrid’s most important players.