Thibaut Courtois: 'I'm still one of world's best goalkeepers'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior ReporterPublished: 22 March 2019 6:56 PM

Thibaut Courtois sticks up for himself amid a wave of criticism from the Spanish press by insisting that he remains "one of the best" goalkeepers in the world.

Belgium and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has declared himself "one of the best" in the world, despite a difficult campaign.

The 26-year-old has struggled to justify his £35m price tag since joining Real from Chelsea last summer and has now seemingly been relegated behind Keylor Navas.

Zinedine Zidane's return to the Bernabeu has coincided with Courtois dropping down to the bench, sparking rumours that the ex-Atletico Madrid stopper's second spell in the Spanish capital may be coming to an early end.

Courtois was also at fault for Denis Cheryshev's goal in Belgium's eventual 3-1 win over Russia on Thursday, but he has no doubts about his quality.

"I consider myself to be one of the best, although the Spanish press would love to kill me," he is quoted as saying by Marca. "I feel very strong and I'm at ease because I know I train and play well."

Asked about his error for the Cheryshev goal, Courtois said: "He elbowed me and I therefore wasn't able to stop the ball from going in. It was a small error, but these things happen in the life of a goalkeeper."

Courtois has kept eight clean sheets in 24 La Liga appearances this season - only the joint-seventh best return in the division, seven fewer than Atletico's Jan Oblak.