Courtois Finally Feeling at Home Ahead of Awkward Return to Chelsea
Established 1961 15 Wednesday, May 5, 2021 Sports Courtois finally feeling at home ahead of awkward return to Chelsea MADRID: When Thibaut Courtois was sold by Chelsea to ‘One of the best’ Real Madrid in 2018, there was little affection for one of the But Courtois might also have been spurred on by the world’s best goalkeepers from either the club he was joining criticism. Never one dodge to controversy, his remarks in or the one he had just left. Courtois’ relationship with the the press and decisions in his career have all been made Chelsea fans had soured after he pushed the move through with a singular, uncompromising focus on what he by refusing to report for pre-season training and rejecting an believes he deserves as one of the game’s most complete offer of talks with then-coach Maurizio Sarri. goalkeepers. Once at Madrid, he rubbed salt into the wounds, remark- “I think I’m one of the best even if the Spanish press want ing on the difference in quality in training with his new team to kill me,” he said in his first season at Real Madrid, before and expressing hope that Eden Hazard, Chelsea’s star player, last month lamenting a lack of appreciation for his talents would soon be there to join him. The welcome, though, was back in Belgium. “I survived a tsunami in Madrid and I read not much warmer than the farewell, Courtois arriving at a (Romelu) Lukaku deserved the trophy for Belgium’s best club whose goalkeeper was perhaps the most popular player player abroad,” he told Belgian newspaper HLN.
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