Thibaut Courtois Talks Chelsea Exit, Fan Criticism After Move to Real Madrid

Thibaut Courtois has opened up on his switch from Chelsea to Real Madrid last summer and the criticism he's received during his time in the Spanish capital.

Courtois told HLN's Stephan Keygnaert (h/t MailOnline's Tom Caldon) in an interview published on Saturday that he had made an agreement months in advance with Blues director Marina Granovskaia that he would be allowed to leave:

"That Marina is hard at negotiation is normal. The people in football who are talking about contracts, salaries, transfers, etc. that get players and dispose of them, they have the most difficult job.

"Only, in March Marina and I had a meeting in which I indicated that I wanted to leave. Living in London and the schedule of the Premier League made it impossible for me to regularly see my children, who lived in Madrid. 

"'Are you going to find something?' Marina asked me. 'Rest assured,' was my answer. 'All right, then we'll let you go and we'll find a replacement.'

The Belgian was in the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge. His exit to Real required Chelsea to pay a world-record £71 million to buy Kepa Arrizabalaga out of his Athletic Bilbao contract shortly before the closure of the Premier League's transfer window.

Courtois had returned from the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia having won the Golden Glove award and helping Belgium finish third.

WhoScored.com shared some insight into his performances:

Since moving to Madrid, however, Courtois has faced some criticism for his performances.

On the abuse he received from some quarters, Courtois said: "There are times when I feel that I am not appreciated enough. What sometimes all appears on social media ... [sigh] but not just me, hey—today it is far too easy to point to keepers when one loses."

The 26-year-old added that while he does not read "everything" aimed at him on social media, it will often make its way to him through friends or family "if someone writes something flagrant about me."

Courtois has conceded 31 goals in 24 appearances for Real, with nine clean sheets. After initially splitting time with previous starter Keylor Navas, the Belgian has gone on to become the team's No. 1 between the sticks.

However, Navas is a popular figure in Madrid because of the part he played in the team's three consecutive Champions League titles between the 2015/16 season and 2017/18.

That popularity likely played a part in the criticism aimed at Courtois after a difficult start for both him and the team. Real have won in Courtois' last three starts, though, and he will likely hope to continue that run on Sunday against sixth-placed Alaves.