Thibaut Courtois ends Real Madrid speculation

Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid is just one of several never-ending transfer stories that continue to swirl around Chelsea Football Club and while we’d be a bit too naive to think that the goalkeeper’s latest words could actually put all that nonsense to rest, we can at least commend him for the good effort he’s put in.

Spanish radio stations Cadena SER and Cadena COPE have been the two main flag-carriers for these continuing rumours and it was on the former that Courtois made an appearance yesterday, giving a short interview to Manu Carreño of the show El Larguero.

You can listen to the full 17-minute segment on Cadena SER’s website, but the main takeaways that concern us the most are Courtois confirming that he’s not joining Real Madrid, that he wants to stay at Chelsea where he plays a key role, and that negotiations for a contract renewal are not yet underway.

“I have two years [left on my] contract, so far we have not talked about [a renewal]. Would I like to extend? Of course. I am very happy at Chelsea and if they wanted to continue with me, it would be great.”

"I do not see myself at Real Madrid. I see myself at Chelsea, I feel like I'm a key to the team."

“No, [I will not be at Real Madrid next year]”.

-Thibaut Courtois; source: Cadena SER via Google Translate

I have no doubt that Courtois and Chelsea will hammer out a new contract before next season, just as we will with Antonio Conte and perhaps several other squad members who will be in that optimal two-year renewal window — Costa, Matić, Fàbregas, Pedro, David Luiz, and Kurt Zouma all have contracts expiring in 2019, as does Gary Cahill though presumably the club’s strict one-year contract policy for players 30 and over remains in place.

More importantly, this is as clear as Courtois has ever been about his future, and that sounds pretty good to me.