Thibaut Courtois

After turning down a transfer to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim of the Bundesliga, Courtois was made first-choice goalkeeper for the 2010–11 season ahead of Casteels, when Laszlo Koteles' registration ran into issues.

Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois (born 11 May 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Belgium national team.

Regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, he is known for his reflexes, acrobatic saves, and command of the penalty area.

Soon after, in 1999, he joined Racing Genk at the age of seven, and it was there that he was converted into a goalkeeper.

Courtois began his career with Genk and made his senior debut in 2009, at age 16; he went on to establish himself as the club's starting goalkeeper and won the Belgian Pro League.

Courtois progressed through the Genk youth system, where Koen Casteels was initially regarded as the primary goalkeeper, but during an injury crisis Courtois, aged 16 years and 341 days, made his first team debut on 17 April 2009 against Gent.

He was a key figure in Genk's title victory in the 2010–11 season in the Belgian Pro League.

He received the Goalkeeper of the Year and Genk's Player of the Year award, only conceding 32 goals over the course of 40 league matches and keeping 14 clean sheets for Genk.

In 2011, Courtois signed for Chelsea in a transfer worth a reported £8 million (€9 million), but then joined Atlético Madrid on loan.

At Atlético, Courtois won a La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, the Europa League, and reached the UEFA Champions League final.

Courtois made his senior international debut for Belgium in 2011 at age 19, becoming their youngest senior international goalkeeper.

He has since earned over 100 caps, ranking seventh-highest for appearances, while he has appeared in five major tournaments.

Courtois has won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy three times, the Premier League Golden Glove once, and was named the third-best goalkeeper of the decade (2011–2020) by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

Courtois was born in the city of Bree in Flanders, to a Walloon father and a Flemish mother.

He began his career with local side Bilzen V.V., as a left back.

In July 2011 Courtois joined Premier League club Chelsea for a reported €9 million, signing a five-year deal.

Within weeks of joining Chelsea, Courtois was sent on a season-long loan to Atlético Madrid.

Courtois made his debut for Atlético in a 4–0 UEFA Europa League victory over Vitória de Guimarães on 25 August, and three days later kept a clean sheet on his La Liga debut, a goalless draw against Osasuna at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.

Courtois became first-choice goalkeeper over Sergio Asenjo, keeping four clean sheets in his first six La Liga games.

On 26 November 2011, Courtois received his first red card of his professional career after fouling Real Madrid's Karim Benzema for a penalty in the Madrid derby.

Cristiano Ronaldo put the penalty past substitute goalkeeper Asenjo as Atlético lost 1–4.

Atlético reached the 2012 UEFA Europa League final, and Courtois kept a clean sheet as the club won 3–0 over fellow Spanish side Athletic Bilbao.

Courtois' loan to Atlético was extended to cover the 2012–13 season.

His first game of the loan extension was against parent club Chelsea in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup in Monaco, which ended in a 4–1 victory for Atlético Madrid.

Later in the season Courtois set a new Atlético Madrid record of 820 minutes without conceding a goal at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, ended by being beaten in a 1–0 loss to Real Sociedad.

Atlético reached the 2013 Copa del Rey Final, and Courtois was named man of the match in a 2–1 victory against Real, the first time that Atlético had beaten their city rivals in 14 years.

For the 2013–14 season, Courtois' loan to Atlético was extended by a further 12 months.

When Atlético were drawn to play Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final, it was reported that a clause in Courtois' contract required Atlético to pay Chelsea €3 million per match if they selected him against his parent club, and that Atlético could not afford such a sum.

UEFA made it clear that considerations of sporting integrity made such a clause "null, void and unenforceable", and confirmed that Atlético were free to select Courtois without making any such payment.

By conceding the fewest goals in a substantial number of matches during the 2013–14 season, Courtois won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy and made an important contribution to Atletico's 2013–14 La Liga title, their first since 1996.

He was nominated for the La Liga Award for the best goalkeeper in the league, alongside Willy Caballero of Málaga and Keylor Navas of Levante, which Navas eventually won.

Atletico, however, lost the UEFA Champions League final 1–4 a.e.t. against neighbours Real Madrid on 24 May in Lisbon.

He returned to Chelsea in 2014 and won two Premier League titles and the EFL Cup.

In June 2014, Chelsea manager José Mourinho confirmed that Courtois would return to Chelsea for the upcoming season.

He was assigned the number 13 shirt, last worn by Victor Moses.

On 18 August, Mourinho announced that Courtois would start the Premier League opener against Burnley in place of Petr Čech.

Although he conceded the first goal to Scott Arfield at Turf Moor, Chelsea won 3–1.

Courtois kept his first Premier League clean sheet in his second game, making several crucial saves in a 2–0 home win over Leicester City.

In 2018, Courtois signed for Real Madrid in a deal worth a reported £35 million (€38.8 million), becoming La Liga's most expensive goalkeeper, and where he has gone on to win two La Liga titles and the Champions League.

At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Courtois won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper as he helped Belgium finish third, their highest-ever finish at the competition.