Thibaut Courtois' Real Madrid future in doubt as Zinedine Zidane arrives and father accuses media of targeting goalkeeper
The £35m goalkeeper hasn't had a great time of things since arriving from Chelsea in August
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Thibaut Courtois' future at Real Madrid is uncertain after Zinedine Zidane, who moved to block the signing of the Belgian during his previous stint in charge, returned to the club.
The Belgian has struggled for form in an underperforming Madrid side this season and while Zidane's return isn't necessarily terminal for his career at the Santiago Bernabeu, that Zidane preferred Keylor Navas to Courtois makes the Frenchman's return interesting as Navas remains at the club in a diminished role having effectively refused to leave.
Should Zidane decide to reinstate his former No 1 then it will be a further blow to the struggling Courtois, whose father Thierry has accused newspapers in Madrid and Belgium of bullying his son.
"I feel that everyone is targeting Thibaut," he said.
"The Spanish press, and also the Flemish. As a father, I can not ignore that.
"A goalkeeper is always the first target, it is part of the job. For right or wrong, I let you judge that. But after the match against Ajax, he was targeted because of the fourth goal after he’d played well. This single mistake has taken on huge proportions.
"There are also personal things that come out in the press. I see the intentions of journalists to my son. I’m struggling with that, but luckily Thibaut is above that.
"He knows what to do and is aware of his qualities and he will not doubt himself."
Real Madrid paid some £35m to prise Courtois away from Chelsea, a fee greatly reduced by just one year remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge.
Should he become surplus to requirements in Madrid then there would likely be no shortage of suitors, though the fee would likely exceed the cut-price deal the Bernabeu club managed to negotiate less than a year ago.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments