Without a doubt, Thibaut Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now. He remains in the English Premier League with Chelsea FC and the Belgian national football team. Since 1997, the goalkeeper has taken a very good position and it has earned him an invitation to play for Belgium in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Here is what to know about him.
Thibaut Courtois Biography
He was born as Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois on May 11, 1992 in Bree, Belgium. He was raised by their parents, Thierry Courtois and his mother, Gitte Courtois.
Born into a sporting home with both parents as former volleyball players, it was no wonder that he also became an athlete on par with his sister who chose to follow the same path as her parents by also playing volleyball.
As with most other goalkeepers, Courtois started football as a left-back as a child. Nevertheless, he was quickly turned into a goalkeeper at his first youth club.
Sister, Wife and Girlfriend
As noted, Thibaut was brought up next to his sister Valerie Courtois who, unsurprisingly, is also into the sport. However, unlike her younger brother, she plays volleyball for Belgium. She won bronze at the 2013 European Championships and silver at the European Women’s Volleyball League in 2013 for Belgium.
Valérie Courtois was born on November 1, 1990 in Bilzen. She played in several clubs, including VDK Gent Dames, VC Oudegem and Budowlani Łódź.
Even though he’s not married and doesn’t have a wife, Courtois once had a relationship with Marta Dominguez who he met while on loan at Atletico. After dating for a while, the two had two kids together before calling it quits.
He has a daughter, Adriana Courtois, as well as a son. His son was born after his parents split in September 2016. Although he continues to play football in England, his former girlfriend and children are still in Madrid, Spain. Spain.
Although he was linked to his 18-year-old dog sitter, Delaney Royle, his father had come forward to say nothing was going on between the two.
Previously, some reports had linked him to Brittny Gastineau. Again, nothing happened between the goalkeeper and the American socialite.
Club football career
As for his club football career, the Belgian goalkeeper started as a 5-year-old boy with the Bilzen VV youth team in 1997. It was here that he was converted from a defender to a goalkeeper. He remained with the club until 1999 when he joined the youth team of Belgian professional football club, Genk.
Thibaut Courtois stayed with the youth team until 2009 when he was promoted to the Belgian Pro League for Genk. With 41 caps, he quickly attracted big clubs, including Chelsea FC of England.
In July 2011, Thibaut Courtois signed a 5-year contract with the English club for the amount of 9 million euros. With Petr Čech at Chelsea, the young 19-year-old Belgian goalkeeper was loaned to Atlético Madrid. Soon, he became the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, which helped them to four draws in their first six matches.
After a very successful run with Atletico, Thibaut returned to his parent club in 2014 and soon signed a deal that would keep him there for the next 5 years. After joining Arsenal in 2015, Petr Čech became the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.
By the end of the 2017/2018 season, he had already recorded 126 appearances in a blues shirt and won both Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a Football League Cup. He also won the Premier League Golden Glove with the club. More so, before leaving Atletico, he recorded a La Liga title, Copa del Rey, UEFA Europa League, and finished second in the UEFA Champions League.
National football career
As for his national career, the scrawny goalkeeper received his first call-up in 2009 to wear the nation’s colors for the U18 team. In 2011, he was called up to play for the Belgian national team alongside teammate Eden Hazard.
By the time he was invited for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Courtois had already covered the job for his country 54 times. In the tournament proper, with his help, Belgium were able to put in their best ever World Cup performance, losing only one game against France in the semi-finals, but then beat England in a match that ended the tournament. 2 goals to nil in favor of the Belgian Red Devils.
Height and width
Thibaut Courtois is one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world. Interestingly, that didn’t stop him from being good with low shots like he does with high shots. In fact, height is one of the things a lot of goalkeepers rely on, and it hasn’t failed to score the Belgian goalscorer.
He is 199cm tall, making him one of the tallest in his country and the English League. He also has a weight of 91 kg.