Thibaut Courtois hit back at Chelsea fans who mocked him on his return to Stamford Bridge after the Real Madrid goalkeeper was seen making a gesture to rile up the home fans. The Belgian had been subjected to expletive-laden shouts during the warm-up for the Champions League quarter-final second leg, and he answered with a sly gesture to the home fans’ outrage.
Courtois has faced a hostile greeting from Chelsea fans three times in as many seasons after the two clubs were drawn against each other in the Champions League. As he warmed up on the pitch, there were booing from all corners of the stadium. The Belgian, on the other hand, did not take the booing lying down.
Thibaut Courtois mocks Chelsea fans just after pulling-off an incredible save
Chants of “Thibaut, you’re a c***, Thibaut, Thibaut you’re a c***” were also caught up by the TV microphones that were pitch-side as Thibaut Courtois was accorded less than a warm welcome on his return to the club where he spent seven years. But the world-class ‘keeper had his sweet revenge when he pulled-off a stunning save by tipping a point-blank Marc Cucurella shot wide and rejoiced by insulting the home fans.
As he took a drink from his bottle, Courtois turned to the home fans in the Matthew Harding stand and surreptitiously kissed the Real Madrid badge on his orange goalkeeper shirt. The gesture from the 29-year-old certainly enraged the Blues’ crowd more, but even more frustrating to them was that their team failed to score in the first half.
Chelsea’s sale of Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid in 2018 was not the first time the club has done business with a club in the Spanish capital, following a successful loan period at Atlético Madrid between 2011 and 2014. The Los Blancos were anxious to lure him back to Madrid and put up a sum thought to be in the region of £35 million to do so.
courtois kissing the real madrid badge in front of chelsea fans and his former club is actually crazy pic.twitter.com/AViBJHuXCq
— ⊰ (@iraqiacore) April 18, 2023
But that wasn’t the only reason he made headlines. Following the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, Courtois stated publicly that he wished to be closer to his children in Madrid. His words revived transfer rumours about him to Real Madrid. Courtois’ decision was made after the World Cup, when he stated his desire to move on from Stamford Bridge.
However, matters went worse when Chelsea declined Thibaut Courtois a transfer until they had signed a replacement, to which the shot-stopper responded by boycotting training sessions in the hopes of forcing through a move. Since then, Courtois’ relationship with the Chelsea fans deteriorated and from the latest incident, it seems there’s no love lost between the two.
Meanwhile, Thibaut Courtois and Real Madrid’s attention will now shift to the Champions League semi-finals. They are also in the final of the Copa del Rey. On the other hand, Chelsea’s season is very much done, as they have nothing left to play for, unless they end up in a relegation battle, which is not unthinkable at the moment as they sit eleventh in the Premier League standings and haven’t won any of their last five league games.