“I never imagined that I would play in the best team in the world”

Thibaut Courtois (28 years old) has returned to approach the fans. He already did, for example, during confinement in March and has repeated in the last hours for having reached 7 million followers on Instagram. From his profile on this social network he has answered via stories to seven questions, in a nod to the figure reached, with a headline over the rest: “I started as a goalkeeper when I was 11 years old and since then I have had the goal in my head, but I could never have imagined that I would play for the best team in the world. It is a dream come true.”

In this way, declaring his madridismo, he ended up responding when questioned about how he realized he wanted to be a goalkeeper. That Madrid accent came out in another reply. “How do I feel when I step on the Bernabéu? An enormous happiness, it is an honor to be able to play there”, said the current Zamora, who has started this League fitting only two goals in four days, with three clean sheets.

The Belgian also remembered one of his great saves, to Neymar in Russia in 2018: “One of my favorites is the World Cup, against Brazil at the last minute.” He also revealed what he would have wanted to be if football hadn't turned out well: “I never really appreciated it, but as a child I thought about something related to physiotherapy, like my mother, or being a Physical Education teacher at a school.” After telling that his glove size is 11 and that the most important thing for him is family, he left a piece of advice to the younger goals: “Keep working hard, watch videos of other goalkeepers to learn from them and, above all, BELIEVE in yourself.”

Courtois is experiencing a peculiar week. He flew to Brussels to join the Belgian concentration in Tubize, but returned a few days later. With discomfort in the psoas, After being examined by the medical services of the Belgian Football Federation, he decided with Roberto Martínez not to take any risks. He is expected to arrive for the appointment with Cádiz, on October 17 or 18.