Thibaut Courtois Reflects on Missed Opportunity with Manchester United and Its Impact on His Goalkeeping Career

Every club has their own tale of the one that got away, like the near miss of Blackburn Rovers signing Robert Lewandowski or Zlatan Ibrahimovic's brief trial at Arsenal.

There can be countless reasons why these don’t happen - Lewandowski’s aforementioned 2010 Ewood Park switch was derailed by the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano for example - but the most common are cost or a surplus of players in a particular position.

But it’s always more galling when a player your team has missed out on goes on to be one of the world’s best in that position and would have been a tailor-made long-term fit.

Thibaut Courtois opens up on Manchester United links

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has spoken to Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, presented by Qatar Airways, with the pair discussing just how close the Belgian stopper - ranked at No.2 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best goalkeepers in the world - came to joining him at Old Trafford.

The 32-year-old began his career at Genk, before making a €9million move to Chelsea in 2011. After three seasons on loan with Atletico Madrid, he became the Blues No.1 in 2014, establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers before joining Real Madrid in 2018 for a £35million fee. But according to Courtois, it could have all been different.

Courtois told Ferdinand that he followed Manchester United because of Netherlands stopper Edwin van der Saar, which immediately made the former England defender ask why he never signed for the club.

“Then, well, they signed David (De Gea), you know. So that helped me shape my path in a different way,” he said.

Get FourFourTwo Newsletter

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

“I think that obviously that moment when I was at Genk starting to do something decent. Obviously, there was some interest of Tottenham at that moment. There was some interest of Chelsea, some other teams from other countries.

“And obviously Chelsea at that moment had the best project for me on the long term. And basically because David (De Gea) was going to Manchester, it opened the door for me to go alone to Atletico. And basically, I think that transfer for me made me into the goalkeeper I am today.”

Courtois - who is valued by Transfermarkt at €25million - has enjoyed a career that has seen him win four La Liga titles and two Premier Leagues, while he has also lifted the Champions League trophy twice with Real Madrid, while on the international front he has won 102 caps for Belgium.

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, almost any club in the world would have liked to have had Courtois in their ranks at any time over the past decade-plus, but David De Gea was able to establish himself as a solid No.1 at Old Trafford following Van der Sar’s departure, so they’ve not had it too bad.