Thibaut Courtois has insisted he will not apologise if he shines against Chelsea, even though his time there was ‘very special’ for him.
The Belgian goalkeeper is set to come against his former club in the Champions League quarter-finals later this month, with current club Real Madrid travelling to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
It will be a special occasion for Courtois, who spent seven years with Chelsea after signing from Genk in 2011.
He initially spent three years on loan at Atletico Madrid before returning to London and replacing Petr Cech as number one, going on to make 154 appearances for the club.
His time with them was a very successful one, too, with him winning the Premier League in 2014/15 and 2016/17, the FA Cup in 2017/18 and the League Cup in 2014/15.
He moved to Real Madrid in a £31.5m deal in August 2018 and insists his loyalties absolutely lie with the Spanish club, despite his continuing fondness for Chelsea.
“It will be different because there will be a crowd, and there may be some whistles in protest at my departure, but I hope people remember the beautiful moments of winning two leagues, the FA Cup….
“Chelsea will always be one of my teams because they helped me to become the goalkeeper I am now; they signed me when I was 18 and gave me the opportunity to play for Atletico and then play in the Premier League and win it.
“I still have friends there, and it’s always a pleasure to play against them. Apologize for my saves? No, it’s been almost four years now, and I defend my club.
“Obviously, I have a fondness for Chelsea, and if I see them win a title, I congratulate the people I know, but when they play against me… I hope we win.”
