Thibault Courtois still in dark despite Atlético victory

Atlético Madrid's on-loan goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois admits that he still does not know where he will play next season, insisting that he must wait for his parent club, Chelsea, to make a decision about his future, but he warned that he will not accept a substitute's role.

Courtois, speaking after Atlético had become Spanish champions for the first time in 18 years, said: "It's a great feeling to be champion of Spain. I am not sure yet what happens next season. We have the Champions League final [on Saturday] and then the World Cup, so now is not the time to think of the future. I have two years contract [left with Chelsea, so we will see.

“If I move somewhere, I will play . . . Petr [Cech] is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, he won the golden glove in the Premier League, and I have a lot of respect for him, so we will see what Chelsea decide and what they plan to do.”

Courtois turned 22 a week ago. He has now won four titles and two consecutive Zamora awards as La Liga's best goalkeeper. His manager describes him as the best in the world.

Enviable achievement
"He is my coach, so he would always have to say that about his goalkeeper," Courtois smiled.

“He gave me more confidence when he arrived here, and with him I have grown a lot as a goalkeeper. When I joined [Atlético] three years ago it was not sure I would stay three years. I stayed one year and said I would see. We won the Europa League, the European Super Cup and then the next year it was the Copa del Rey and now it’s the [league] title. It was unthinkable to achieve all of those things.”

Courtois cited Diego Simeone as the key to the change in the club’s mentality. “When he arrived, he made it very hard to score against us,” said the Belgian.

Commanding Simone
"He made this system

. . . We are a good team with a good coach and we are one team together and we have seen that one team can do more than 11 top players. You can see what we have achieved. [Simeone] will only say two or three words but he says it in the right way . . . At half-time [in Saturday’s title-clinching 1-1 draw at Barcelona], he told us . . . to press Fabregas and Iniesta.”

Meanwhile, Atlético chief executive Miguel-Angel Gil Marin has admitted that a deal for Courtois to continue in Spain for another season had been put on hold after the Champions League draw brought the club together with Chelsea.

Jose Mourinho did not want Courtois to play in the semi-final and a clause in his contract imposed a penalty, understood to be about €6 million.
Guardian Service