Courtois signs new five-year contract with Real Madrid
Real Madrid have lost defenders Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane this transfer window, but goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will be staying at the Bernabeu.
Thibaut Courtois has signed a fresh five-year deal with Real Madrid, the club confirmed on Monday.
Madrid have allowed experienced defenders Sergio Ramos and Raphaël Varane leave the club, as they look to ease financial difficulties compounded by the covid-19 pandemic.
However, Madrid have decided to secure the long-term future of goalkeeper Courtois, who has signed a deal running until June 30, 2026.
Courtois joined Madrid from Chelsea in 2018, having impressed for Belgium at the World Cup in Russia where he won the Golden Glove.
He has gone on to establish himself as Los Blancos' number one after what was an initially tricky start to a second stint in LaLiga - Courtois having previously played for Atlético Madrid on loan from Chelsea.
The 29-year-old has helped Madrid to three trophies, winning LaLiga in 2019-20, that season's Supercopa de Espana and the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup.
Courtois up with Benzema, Casemiro and Modric
Since he joined Madrid, only Karim Benzema (148), Casemiro (136) and Luka Modric (135) have made more appearances in all competitions than Courtois (130), who is level with Toni Kroos in that time frame.
Of those appearances, 100 have come in LaLiga, with only five goalkeepers playing in more matches.
Courtois ranks seventh for total saves (238), registering an impressive save percentage of 73.52, ranking him third out of LaLiga goalkeepers to have made over 50 appearances in the past three seasons.
He has conceded 85 league goals in total, with 82 of those coming from attempts inside the box.
A tally of 2,009 successful passes is second behind only Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen, proving Courtois' quality with the ball at his feet.
However, the vast majority of these were short passes, with Courtois only landing 338 long passes, which is a better total than just Joel Robles (299).
That being said, it perhaps demonstrates Madrid's tendency to play out from the back, rather than go long, with Courtois only attempting 961 long passes, the third-fewest from the division's goalkeepers to have made over 50 appearances since the start of 2018-19.