Thibaut Courtois’ exit from Chelsea was definitely not smooth sailing.
With rumours constantly flying about his desire to return to Madrid, the Belgian refused to train to attempt to force a move through.
Eventually Courtois got his wish, and on transfer deadline day, he sealed a £35m move to Real Madrid.
But Courtois had to settle for a place on the bench for the first few games, before finally making his debut in Madrid’s 4-1 win over Leganes on Saturday.
After the game, Courtois had a lot to say, and most of it was about Chelsea.
“In training, you see that the level is high,” Courtois said to Het Nieuwsblad.
“I am now experiencing on a daily basis that Sergio Ramos is the best centre-back in the world. The level at Real Madrid is higher than at Chelsea.
“It’s (the Bernabeu) twice as big (as Stamford Bridge), of course, it’s a very different feeling.
“If you look forward, you only see a wall of people while at Stamford Bridge you can still see the sky or the hotel behind the grandstand.”
Chelsea have so far shown that they do not need Courtois, with the Blues winning all four of their Premier League games to sit joint top of the Premier League alongside Liverpool and Watford.
The Belgian’s replacement, Kepa, has recorded two clean sheets so far, and given Chelsea fans no reason to pine for the return of Courtois.
So following Courtois’ frank statements, let’s see how Chelsea fans have been reacting to them:
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