The Athletic UK Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson wrote an article ahead of the champions league semi-final second leg between Chelsea and Real Madrid, in which he talked about the extremely unpopular Real Madrid goalkeeper in the Chelsea fan base, Belgium international Thibaut Courtois.
Shortly after Chelsea drew 1-1 with Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, a Chelsea fan tweeted that they wanted to buy coach Tuchel a beer. The reason is also very simple, the final whistle sounded, Tuchel stepped onto the pitch to congratulate the players. As he strode over the pitch, former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois held out his hand to shake his hand, but Tuchel completely ignored Courtois.
It was certainly not intentional, and Tuchel seemed to be just focused on greeting Rudiger, but the moment was captured by television cameras and Chelsea fans loved it. So far, one video of the incident has been viewed more than 200,000 times. Of all the players who left Chelsea, there should be few who are as hated as Courtois, but when Courtois prepares to return to Stamford Bridge, you can be sure that the online insults against him will not worry him.
Simon Johnson also mentioned the past of Courtois joining Chelsea, and a Belgian TV staff member showed up at Courtois's home to make a special report on him leaving Belgium to join Chelsea. In his bedroom, the camera captured a Real Madrid flag hanging on the wall. Although he is not a fan of the Spanish team, his goalkeeper idol is Spain's legendary goalkeeper Casillas.
Courtois had not yet appeared on Real Madrid's reinforcement radar, but the video taken that day quickly caught the attention of real Madrid staff. Thanks to Chelsea, Real Madrid can see Courtois up close. Courtois spent three successful years in Madrid, winning the Europa League, the UEFA Cup of the Rey and La Liga.
But one source revealed to ta: "Chelsea have been renting him out for too long and he is getting used to life in Madrid. He loves the city and loves the weather. It was there that he met his girlfriend Marta Dominguez, with whom he later had two children. It became his home. ”
To be fair, Mourinho did try to persuade Courtois to come back in 2013, but Courtois refused to come back because he couldn't get a guarantee. However, it is also an understandable behavior, why risk sitting on the bench to come back when you are the main goalkeeper of a successful team?
When chelsea were forced to settle in the 2014 Champions League semi-final, Courtois was determined to face his home team. It's also part of his character, wanting to play in every game, to fight for every trophy. Mourinho was furious and wanted Courtois not to play out of loyalty to Chelsea. Chelsea also added a clause to the loan contract stipulating that if two clubs meet in the Champions League final four, Atletico must pay Chelsea 3 million euros per game. Atletico complained they couldn't afford it, and UEFA stepped in, saying such an agreement was "null and void and unenforceable" so Courtois could play.
Mourinho gave a passionate speech before the game: "We have to give Courtois a little bit of pain, he is a member of Chelsea, but he wants to fight us and we want to make him pay the price." ”
The bitterness was palpable, and as the two sides lined up in the players' tunnel in the second leg, Mourinho hugged Atletico's former Chelsea midfielder Thiago in the tunnel, ignoring Courtois, even though he was standing in front. It also inspired Courtois in disguise, making a crucial save in his 3-1 win over Chelsea. When asked about his performance, Mourinho simply said he was "Atletico's goalkeeper" and didn't speak to him afterwards.
Mourinho's cross-browed pair has raised questions again about Courtois's return to Chelsea, with staying at Atletico actually his first choice. Although his Atletico team-mate Diego Costa also joined Chelsea, in the 2014-15 season, Courtois met with technical director Emmenaro and said he missed Spain and wanted to get back there. Chelsea will have a double that season, so we can see that the events in Courtois are more of a personal issue than one for Chelsea.
Atletico brought in Oblak, so it was unlikely to bring him back, but Real Madrid's first attempt to offer Courtois was deterred by Chelsea's €100 million asking price. Then, there's the De Gea and fax machine incident that everyone knows about.
After that incident, Courtois did not hide his admiration for Real Madrid. 'Everyone inside Chelsea knows about it. Another source revealed, "It's no secret. Chelsea know that if Real Madrid bids, it will be a big problem. ”
Subsequently, the relationship between Courtois and goalkeeper coach Lorisson also became tense, but after Conte joined, Gianluca Spinelli became the new goalkeeper coach, which is also his efforts to keep Courtois, and the relationship between the two has indeed improved.
But personal issues remained an obvious factor, and he broke up with Dominguez, who returned to Spain with two children. Things don't go as most people expect, Conte didn't play in Europe in his first season, so Courtois could often fly back to Madrid to see his kids. In the 17-18 season, Chelsea returned to the Champions League, which affected him to go back to see the children.
But Chelsea still managed to keep Courtois, and if Kepa hadn't been injured in Training at Athletic Bilbao in December 2017, everything would have been different.
Real Madrid triggered a €20 million termination clause for Kepa at the time, and the two sides agreed to a 5-year contract. Courtois' hopes for the Bernabeu looked to have come to an end, and he was close to renewing his contract with Chelsea, with sources saying the only obstacle at the time was the signing fee. Suddenly, people associated with Real Madrid called someone close to Courtois and asked them to wait.
While undergoing treatment, Real Madrid discovered that Kepa's injuries required surgery to fully heal. Kepa is ambitious and wants to represent Spain at the 2018 World Cup, but he is reluctant to sit on the sidelines.
Zidane was lukewarm about signing Kepa, a die-hard Fan of Navas, and the deal failed, with Kepa signing a new contract with Athletic Bilbao with £71.6 million.
So, Chelsea's troubles are here again. In March of that year, Kurtua met with Granovskaya and made it clear that he wanted to leave that summer. Fang has different accounts of the conversation that follows, but Chelsea will never let him go unless they find a replacement. To Courtois' concern, chelsea and Real Madrid were chasing Alisson, who was playing for Roma at the time, but when Liverpool signed The West Guard, Real Madrid focused all their attention on him.
His contract is only one year away and the initiative is in the hands of the players. The scariest thing was that he did nothing in his final year, lay flat and left for free. But after a great world cup performance for Belgium, Courtois knew his chance to move to Real Madrid was coming.
Chelsea struggled to find a replacement, with the likes of Leicester City's Schmeichel being considered, but in the end they vetoed the proposals. Kepa was on the shortlist at the time, but his termination clause put a lot of pressure on Chelsea, and the Premier League deadline was also advanced that year, making the situation more complicated.
Thibaut Courtois is a man of great concern, so he turned to the technique Chelsea used when they got him from Genk seven years ago – he refused to attend pre-season training. Because he knew very well, Real Madrid was ready to pay 35 million pounds and offered him a generous 6-year contract. Chelsea fined Courtois two weeks' salary, but for him, it was like scratching an itch, and there was no deterrent.
In the minds of Chelsea fans, Courtois' behaviour is undoubtedly unforgivable, and at his appearance at the Bernabeu, he said he was "the best club in the world". Subsequently, a statement on social media aimed at Chelsea and its supporters was removed within half an hour due to negative feedback.
Courtois' agent, Christophe Henrotay, tried a few days later to excuse his client: "The strike may be something we don't want to see. Because Real Madrid made an offer and he had a chance to leave, Courtois felt pressure and he was a little worried that the transfer would not be completed. ”
But perhaps, if Kepa can be a huge success, Chelsea fans will not have as much resentment towards Courtois.
Finally, Simon Johnson quoted people close to Courtois, who said that if Stamford Bridge could get fans in on Wednesday local time, Courtois would enjoy the fans' taunts and perform better.
"The comments he saw about being a snake (traitor) gave him motivation." Another source added, "Returning to Chelsea will be different for him compared to Eden Hazard. Aiden will feel like he's home, Thibault won't have the same emotions, he'll just consider reaching the final with Real Madrid. ”
If he were to block Chelsea from the Champions League final again, as he did in 2014, he might feel right, but it could also mean that his relationship with his old club's fans has been drained.
(Editor: Yao Fan)