Thibaut Courtois: It is an honour to sign for Real Madrid
Real Madrid landed Courtois from Chelsea back in the summer, paying £35million to bring the Belgium international to the Santiago Bernabeu.
His departure prompted much anger among Blues supporters, particularly given how he forced a move when the club were reluctant to sell.
The Real Madrid star aimed further digs at Chelsea this week by saying Marina Granovskaia, the Blues’ director, had renegaded on an agreement to sell him last summer.
"That Marina is hard at negotiation is normal,” he said.
“The people in football who are talking about contracts, salaries, transfers, etc that get players and dispose of them - they have the most difficult job.
"In March, Marina and I had a meeting in which I indicated that I wanted to leave.
“Living in London and the schedule of the Premier League made it impossible for me to regularly see my children, who lived in Madrid.
"After the World Cup, a departure was suddenly not that obvious anymore. The possible replacements were too expensive. That was not the agreement."
Courtois does not regret his move to Real because of his beef with Chelsea, however.
Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois regrets one aspect of his Bernabeu transfer (Image: GETTY)
Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois tasted success with Atletico Madrid (Image: GETTY)
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Instead, the Belgium international regrets that it has cost him his relationship with Atletico Madrid supporters.
Courtois recently praised Atletico, who Real face in the Madrid derby this afternoon.
"It's a shame that the Atletico fans are now against me,” he said.
“The players make decisions according to our career.
“Atletico was the perfect choice when I was young.
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