His Chelsea departure became messy after he failed to report for training
Thibaut Courtois lifts the FA Cup in 2018
The FA Cup in 2018 was Thibaut Courtois' final trophy with Chelsea(Image: Getty Images)
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Thibaut Courtois once failed to turn up for Chelsea pre-season training because he was "stressed" about his impending transfer.
It's been eight years since Courtois swapped Stamford Bridge for Real Madrid. The Belgian had been angling for a move to the Spanish capital to be closer to his children, who lived there.
The move was completed shortly after the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Belgium reached the semi-finals, but only after a hold-up. Fearful that the move was about to collapse, Courtois missed Chelsea training, for which he later apologised.
His agent, Christophe Henrotay, said the apology had been accepted by the Blues. He told the BBC at the time: "The deal was about to be realised. It's [missing training] probably something that ideally we wouldn't have wanted. This was the situation, he apologised and finally everybody is happy."
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Henrotay insisted his player was chasing the move purely for family reasons and nothing else. He added: "It's true that some players push and it's true that at certain moments Thibaut was getting a bit stressed by the situation because Madrid made an offer and he had an opportunity to go. He was a bit stressed that this could not happen.
"There has been a misunderstanding that he wanted to get a move for the wrong reasons, but he was pushing to go out of Chelsea because of his children.
Thibaut Courtois.
Courtois's Chelsea career ended in chaotic fashion(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
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"If the family were in London, it would have been totally different. He would have stayed. There is no reason to leave a club like Chelsea, he could have won trophies. Unfortunately, his kids are living with the mother in Madrid."
Henrotay praised Chelsea for their cooperation and understanding, saying: "It is personal reasons, so we have to respect this. Chelsea understood the situation and really helped to get the deal.
"They did a really quick and easy deal together, understanding the humanity of the situation. It is not doing something against their fans, it is about getting the best of a situation that is not ideal."
Courtois, who remains a Real Madrid player, recently suffered a heartbreaking end to what could be his final World Cup. The 34-year-old had to come off injured with Belgium's quarter-final against Spain locked at 1-1.
His replacement, Senne Lammens of Manchester United, was then at fault for Spain's winner when he fumbled a shot from Pau Cubarsi, with the rebound being fired home by Mikel Merino in the 88th minute. The injury has not proved to be long-term and he is set to join up with Los Blancos for pre-season.