‘I was a fan’ – Thibaut Courtois reveals how Man Utd move was blocked before Chelsea move
Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois has opened up on how he always wanted to play for Manchester United, explaining why a move never came to fruition.
The Belgian keeper joined Chelsea from Genk in 2011 but spent three years at Atletico Madrid developing in La Liga before eventually demoting the ageing Petr Cech to the bench in 2014.
He then won two league titles in three years before exiting for Madrid in 2018 in somewhat controversial circumstances.
Since then, he’s established himself as one of the world’s best, winning 12 trophies including three league titles and two Champions Leagues.
Interest was high in the young keeper following his debut for Genk aged 17 with the likes of Tottenham and Chelsea both scouting him straight out of the academy.
However, it was Chelsea who managed to complete a move for around £7million for the youngster who had just been awarded Genk’s Player of the Year.
Yet, he has revealed that he always wanted to make a move to United because of Edwin van der Sar but a move never materialised.
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Courtois opens up on dream Man United move
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand, he explained how his love for United came about. “I loved Edwin van der Sar and Casillas,’ he told the former United defender on his YouTube channel.
“I always followed Real Madrid and Manchester United games for that reason. I watched a lot of Edwin growing up and I tried to learn from him.”
He was then quizzed by Ferdinand on why he never moved to the Theatre of Dreams, Courtois replied: “They signed David [de Gea[, you know?
“That shaped my path in a bit of a different way. I was a fan of Man United.
“At the moment when I was starting to do well at Genk, there was some interest from Tottenham, some interest from Chelsea and some interest from clubs in other countries too.
“Chelsea at that moment had the best project for me long-term and basically because David was going to Man United, it opened the door for me to go to Atletico.
“That move made me into the goalkeeper I am today.”
De Dea spent a decade at Old Trafford and enjoyed success at the club, featuring in the PFA Team of the Year on five occasions and went toe-to-toe with Courtois during his time at Stamford Bridge.
When he arrived at Chelsea, he was brought in to be the number one, but Cech was still at the club and had started the majority of games the season before. Despite the competition, he claimed the pair were close friends who helped him grow as a player.
“I learned a lot from Petr,’ Courtois added. ‘He was very important for me. He was one of the best goalkeeping teammates I had.
“I came in and was fighting for the spot but Petr was an unbelievable guy who treated me with so much respect, so much love and so much help that I really could never have imagined. But it taught me a lot.”