Yesterday Thibaut Courtois spoke in our online series Home Match about the highs and lows in his career, today he shows a rare time in his heart: about Madrid, his children and love and about life next to and after the sport.
In 2011 Thibaut Courtois took the step abroad at the age of barely 19. Since then he has lived in metropolises London and Madrid. He pledged his heart especially to the latter city. However, it was not love at first sight.
“When Chelsea suggested lending me to Atletico, I immediately felt that I had to do it. That was a special choice because I was alone, couldn’t speak Spanish and wasn’t sure I would be allowed to play.”
“The first 2 weeks I was in a hotel in Madrid and I even cried. I sat alone in my room and saw Genk win the Supercup. I was happy that I could go to the national team afterwards.”
“But gradually my Spanish got better, because the guys from Atletico saw that I was alone and took me everywhere. Now I speak more Spanish than anything else, I actually only speak Dutch when I am gaming with friends or send messages. “
“If I had studied better that year, I might have been 3rd goalkeeper at Hoffenheim”
Now, almost 10 years later, Courtois realizes how important that choice was for Atletico at the time. “That was the most important decision of my life. If I hadn’t gone to Atletico, I wouldn’t have made it.”
“Otherwise, Chelsea will loan me to Genk and you don’t know how that year would have turned out. Now I will win the Europa League with Atletico and play the European Supercup against Chelsea in the summer.”
“If I had stayed with Chelsea, I might have been loaned out to a Championship club in England the following season and you don’t know if you would have made that same evolution.”
“The year that I started playing at Genk under Vercauteren, I was doubting an offer from Hoffenheim. But I had to do my 6th high school again and I would rather finish school and continue playing football in Genk.”
“If I had studied better then, there was a chance that I would have gone to Hoffenheim. I might have been third or fourth goalkeeper at Hoffenheim. Those are defining moments, the choices you make. If I had not gone to Atletico. , I may not have been sitting here talking to you. “
The young Thibaut Courtois at Atletico Madrid.
“I wouldn’t be able to live back in Bilzen”
Thibaut Courtois has already thoroughly renovated the house he has moved to Real since his arrival. “It is gradually starting to take shape. Still, I plan to buy a building plot in the neighborhood and then build my dream home there, the house where I can live until I die.”
“I love Spain and this city. Nice people live here and life is not too expensive, like in London. And you can eat well here,” says Courtois, after which he, as an accomplished tourist guide, explains his favorite addresses in the city. enumerates.
“I wouldn’t be able to go back to live in Bilzen. I like to be at home, but then for 2 to 3 days. After that I start to get bored.”
I want to buy a building plot here and build my dream house on it, the house where I can live until my death.
“What am I missing? A girlfriend maybe?”
Life seems to be smiling at Thibaut Courtois. What does he need to be even happier? “A girlfriend, perhaps? Preferably someone who is also successful. Someone with ambition appeals to me.”
“But at the moment I feel good on my own. I also have the love of my children.” Adriana and Nicolás are now 5 and 3 years old. They alternately live with their mother and their father.
“I still have a very good relationship with their mum. If necessary – because I have to play a match, for example – we can change weeks. Of course it has not always been easy and we have had our arguments. But the children are the most important. and we always put it on 1. So we still celebrate birthdays together, so that the children realize that we are a family after all. “
“I like to take my children to school in the morning myself. To talk to their principal, for example. I like to be able to do normal things.”
Do Adriana and Nicolás realize that their father is a professional football player? “My daughter is starting to understand it more and more. After a match she asks:” Well, did you win? “And if so, then she cheers. So they are starting to realize it, although of course they don’t know. how big Real Madrid is. “
Courtois with his 2 children during his performance
What after football?
The chance that Courtois will stay in Madrid after his career is therefore high. What he could do afterwards also takes shape little by little. And it may have something to do with gaming.
Courtois is an avid gamer and has specialized in racing games in recent years. “First you buy a steering wheel, but after a while you also have a race seat and all. Now I participate in a competition, albeit under a different name. There are races for the championship every Thursday and Friday.”
Courtois also bought into Dux Gaming, an esports company that is increasingly starting to branch out. “They have the best esports players in Europe under their roof, but have also bought a team from the Spanish 3rd class.”
“That is something that appeals to me, I might want to do more with it after my career. That also applies to the DJ school in Hasselt. These are great projects that are growing.”
“I have already spoken to Madrid about taking a kind of business course at their university. So I can spend my free time on that too in the coming years.”
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