Official: Real Madrid sign Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea

And now it’s officially official, not that it was in any doubt. Thibaut Courtois has completed his £35m transfer to Real Madrid today, signing a 6-year deal with the hated rivals of his former team, Atlético Madrid.

(Atléti fans are possibly feeling even more betrayed by this move, in fact, especially given Courtois’ plaque on the “Walk of Legends” outside of their new stadium.)

Courtois’ presentation is ongoing at the Santiago Bernabeu right now, as the 26-year-old completes his “dream move” to the “biggest club in the world”.

His main motivation, he claimed, was to be closer to his children, which is certainly a noble desire. He did not go about fulfilling that desire in the most professional way, but what’s done is done. He got what he wanted, Chelsea splashed the cash to fix the problem, and we even got Mateo Kovačić on loan for a season. It’s probably a win-win-win and we can be happy about that.

Courtois won four major trophies during his time as Chelsea number-one. He’s undoubtedly been one of the best goalkeepers in the world during that time.

We join the official Chelsea website in wishing him best of luck in all his future endeavors.