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#2 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
The dream of a centre back, Thibaut Courtois, is an exceptional talent who possesses a rock solid composure between the sticks. He has a phenomenal ability to read the offside trap. The subsequent positional sense confuses strikers. Courtois can read the ball in the air very well and has always showcased his sharpness while taking crosses. He could be described as a complete goalkeeper.
Thibaut started his senior goalkeeping career with the Racing Genk, in the Belgian Pro League in the 2009-10 session. He became the first choice goalkeeper in the next season for the club. Courtois showcased spectacular performances to win the "Goalkeeper of the Year" award in the Belgian Pro League. He also won the Genk's "Player of the Year" award.
In the 2011-12 season, he moved to Chelsea for a transfer fee of €9 million. However, with Petr Čech already present in their squad, Chelsea sent Courtois on loan to Atletico Madrid in La Liga, weeks after getting his signature.
In his first season on loan in the 2012-13 campaign, Courtois quickly established himself as a first choice goalkeeper. A string of clean sheets, including the one in the final by the Belgian shot-stopper, aided Rojiblancos to the Europa League glory in that campaign. After the extension of the loan for one more season, Courtois went on a clean sheet spree without conceding for a club record of 820 minutes in the 2013-14 season. He also won the Copa del Rey that season.
The loan was further extended for 12 months and it paid out handsomely for Courtois and Atletico. His astonishing heroics between the sticks led Atletico to claim their first La Liga title since 1996. Atletico also reached the final of UEFA Champions League but lost to city rivals Real Madrid.
He won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy, which is awarded to the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio, in consecutive seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Chelsea could not resist the temptation to bring back their prized asset back to Stamford Bridge. Thibaut didn't disappoint anyone as Chelsea won the Premier League and the League Cup in 2014-15.
After suffering a leg injury on September 11, 2015, he was out of action for 3 months. This injury wrecked havoc on Chelsea as they finished 10th in the Premier League. The poor show signified the underlying importance of the world-class goalkeeper in the squad.
Courtois regained his momentum in the next season in 2016-17, as he won the Golden Glove award. It is awarded to the goalkeeper with most clean sheets in the Premier League.
In the summer of 2018, Thibaut has moved to Real Madrid, after winning the Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper in the World Cup in Russia. Real Madrid is renowned as the host of the best talents in the world. Everyone is eagerly waiting to find out if he could fill the void created by the departure of Ronaldo and Zidane at Madrid. Messi has a competition in the El Classico at least.
