Without a doubt, Thibaut Courtois is currently one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He plays for Chelsea FC and also for the Belgian national football team in the English Premier League. Since 1997, the goalkeeper has risen to a very good position, which has earned him an invitation to play at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Belgium. Find out more about him here.
Thibaut Courtois Biography
He was born Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois on 11 May 1992 in the Belgian town of Bree. He was raised by his parents, Thierry Courtois and his mother, Gitte Courtois.
Since he was born in a sporty home where both parents were former volleyball players, it was not surprising that he became an athlete, just like his sister, who followed the same path as her parents and also played volleyball.
As with most other goalkeepers, Courtois started playing football as a child as a left-back. But he soon became a goalkeeper in his first youth club.
Club Football Career
As far as his career in club football is concerned, the Belgian goalkeeper began in 1997 as a 5-year-old boy in the youth team of Bilzen V.V. Here he was transformed from defender to goalkeeper. He remained loyal to the club until 1999 when he joined the youth team of the Belgian professional football club Genk.
Thibaut Courtois remained with the youth team until 2009 when he moved up to the Belgian professional league for Genk. With 41 appearances, he quickly attracted major clubs, including Chelsea FC of England.
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In July 2011 Thibaut Courtois signed a 5-year contract with the English club worth 9 million euros. With Petr Cech in Chelsea, the young Belgian goalkeeper, who was only 19 years old, was sent on loan to Atlético Madrid. He soon became the club’s goalkeeper of choice, helping the club to keep 4 clean sheets in their first six matches.
After a very successful career at Atletico, Thibaut returned to his mother club in 2014 and soon signed a contract to keep him there for the next 5 years. After joining Arsenal in 2015, Petr Cech became the club’s goalkeeper of choice.
By the end of the 2017/2018 season, he had already played 126 matches in the blue jersey, winning 2 Premier League titles, 1 FA Cup, and a Football League Cup. He has also won the Premier League Golden Glove with the club. Even more, before leaving Atletico, he won a La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Europa League, and ended up as runners-up in the UEFA Champions League.
Sister, Wife, and Girlfriend
As already mentioned, Thibaut grew up at the side of his sister Valérie Courtois, who, not surprisingly, was also interested in sports. Unlike her younger brother, however, she plays volleyball for Belgium. She won bronze at the 2013 European Championship and silver in the European Women’s Volleyball League for Belgium in 2013.
Valérie Courtois was born in Bilzen on 1 November 1990. She has played for a number of clubs, including VDK Gent Dames, VC Oudegem, and Budowlani Lódz.
Although he is not married and has no wife, Courtois was already in a relationship with Marta Dominguez, whom he met when he was on loan at Atletico. Since the two had been together for some time, they had two children before they stopped.
He has a daughter, Adriana Courtois, and a son born after the parents separated in September 2016. Although he still plays football in England, his former girlfriend and children are still in Madrid, Spain.
Although he has been associated with his 18-year-old dog-sitter, Delaney Royle, her father had made it clear that there was nothing going on between the two.
Before that, there were reports that connected him with Brittny Gastineau. Again, nothing came out between the goalkeeper and the American celebrity.
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Thibaut Courtois National Football Career
As for his national career, the lanky goalkeeper received his first call to wear the nation’s colors for the U-18 team in 2009. In 2011, he was asked to play for the Belgian national team alongside his teammate Eden Hazard.
By the time he was invited to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Courtois had already taken the post for his country 54 times. At the tournament itself, he helped Belgium achieve their best performance at the World Cup, losing a game against France in the semi-finals but then defeating England in a game that ended with two goals to zero in favor of the Red Devils of Belgium.
Height and Weight
Thibaut Courtois is one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world. Interestingly, this has not stopped him from being as good with low shots as he is with high ones. In fact, height is one of the things that many goalkeepers count on and it has not disappointed the Belgian stopper.
He is 199 cm (6 ft 6.5 inches) tall, making him one of the tallest in his home country and in the English league. He also has a bodyweight of 91 kg / 201 lbs.
