Thibaut Courtois’ father has revealed how Petr Cech helped his son to settle at Chelsea during his time there.
Courtois arrived at Stamford Bridge in an £8m move from KRC Genk in 2011 but spent the next three years on loan with Atlético Madrid.
He established himself as one of the rising stars during his time with Diego Simeone’s side, going on to make 154 appearances in all competitions for the club and keeping 76 clean sheets in total.
Those performances saw him return to Chelsea in 2014, replacing veteran and club legend Petr Cech in the first-team, a move that ultimately saw the latter moving to Arsenal to finish his career.
It was made clear at the time that Courtois would be replacing Cech, but it seems that did not stop the Czech goalkeeper from welcoming the Belgian.
“Petr received him very well,” he told DH, relayed by Mundo Deportivo.
“He was the first who came to receive him in his first training session; he always gave him advice and helped him to integrate.
“He was a great companion he could always count on. The same cannot be said for Keylor (Navas).”
Courtois eventually left Chelsea for Real Madrid in 2018, sealing a £31.5m move to the Santiago Bernabeu in August of that year.
He initially struggled to establish himself with the Spanish giants, with many questioning the decision to buy him when they already had a number one in Navas.
The Costa Rican’s move to Paris Saint Germain last year has changed things drastically, though, something his father admitted was the case.
“His transfer was a bit complicated,” he added.
“The campaign had already started and he was late in preparation. But above all, Keylor was still there.
“He had to wait two or three games to start. This did not facilitate their integration because Keylor was always there; there was an internal competitiveness difficult to live with.
“Also external with journalists, who were in favour of Keylor. Once he went to PSG, everything eased. The departure of Navas to PSG relieved Thibaut.”
