Thibaut Courtois' name 'erased' outside Wanda Metropolitano
The Real Madrid and ex-Atlético keeper's commemorative plaque outside the stadium was vandalised. "It doesn't matter. If that's what makes them happy, then good for them," he said.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois played 154 games for Atlético Madrid over a hugely successful three years at the club, earning him a commemorative plaque bearing his name (100 appearances are required) at Gate 13 outside the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Upon his return to Atlético with Chelsea in the Champions League in 2017, Courtois was pictured beside his then shiny new plaque, with Atlético posting the following message on Twitter: “Welcome back, Tibu! You made history and your plaque is more than deserved. All the best from the Atlético family”.
However, the Belgian keeper's summer move from Chelsea to Atlético's city rivals Real Madrid did not go down well with some of the rojiblanco faithful, who have since scraped, scratched and painted over his name to make it barely legible. "I don't mind. If that makes them happy, then good for them. If they want to throw things at my head, it won't affect me. It's more motivation," Courtois said in reaction to the vandalism and ahead of Saturday's Madrid derby.
Courtois name restored - but covered with rats
Just ahead of the game the Courtois name had been repainted, however the Atlético fans had continued their abuse of the plaque by covering it with a large red cross, three toy rats and adverts for brothels.
