According to media reports, Barcelona was close to signing Courtois, but ultimately chose Ter Stegen. In an interview with Everyday Sports, former Barcelona executive Bordas revealed the story of Courtois almost joining Barcelona that year. In the 2...
According to media reports, Barcelona was close to signing Courtois, but ultimately chose Ter Stegen. In an interview with Everyday Sports, former Barcelona executive Bordas revealed the story of Courtois almost joining Barcelona that year.
In the 2010/11 season of Genk, Courtois, who was only 18 years old, has become the absolute main force of the team. His performance attracted many teams, including Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
Barcelona had very seriously considered signing him for about 3 million euros. Club scouts submitted extremely positive reports, praising the young goalkeeper's maturity, height and dominance in the penalty area.
However, the transfer ultimately failed to take place. At that time, Barcelona had full confidence in Valdes and Pinto. The club's policy was not to introduce young goalkeepers for training, but to maintain the stability of the goalkeeper position when Valdes was at his peak.
Therefore, although 3 million euros is completely affordable financially, Barcelona still believes that this signing is not a top priority and decided to give up. Chelsea immediately grabbed Courtois for nearly 9 million euros in the summer of 2011 and rented him out to Atletico Madrid. At Atletico Madrid, he quickly grew into one of the best young goalkeepers in the world and became Barcelona's "sufferer" in La Liga.
A few years later, when Courtois had already shined at Atletico Madrid, his name appeared again within Barcelona. Former Barcelona executive Bordas admitted in an interview that he proposed signing Courtois to then-president Rosell, but the deal ultimately failed to materialize.
Bordas: "I suggested to Rosell, and he said: 'Well, you go and see if it is possible...'. Later, the matter was submitted to the technical department and it was rejected."
"There are very positive reports about Courtois within the club. He is familiar with La Liga, and some senior leaders feel that even if Terst has signed Root, it would be a good idea to introduce him. "
"My proposal is a bit informal. I put forward the idea, but it will ultimately be evaluated by the economic department and the technical department, and they have the final say."
At that time, sports director Zubizarreta had already placed all his bets on Ter Stegen, and the club finally signed Bravo. The decision to give Ter Stegen priority was mainly based on the German's distinctive personality, super reflexes and excellent skills with his feet - these are the qualities that Zubizarreta believes are crucial to Barcelona now and in the future.
Courtois joined Real Madrid from Chelsea in 2018 and has been playing for him ever since.
