Thibaut Courtois was named The Best FIFA Goalkeeper on Monday evening, in a decision that surprised many.
It’s arguable that Courtois wasn’t the best stopper in the Premier League last season, or really in contention to be so, and therefore it’s his performances for Belgium which seem to have swung the decision.
The Belgian media aren’t so shocked, and to those who feel David De Gea should have won, HLN point out the Spaniard ‘blundered’ at the World Cup and he’s ‘not always correctly’ been rated more highly than Courtois in the Premier League.
Chelsea star Eden Hazard, a former club teammate and current international teammate of the Real Madrid goalkeeper, feels the decision is fitting.
Hazard, who also picked up his own award on Monday for being part of FIFA’s Best XI, is quoted by HLN as saying: “I think it’s deserved, my good friend has been well awarded.”
The Belgian newspaper says Chelsea’s star will give his own award to his children to play with, as he has done before.
Courtois himself said: “I am particularly pleased that the experts have chosen me today. It is not the fans who have chosen, otherwise the most popular or those with the biggest fan support win, I have had a good year with Chelsea, with the FA Cup as a reward, and I played an excellent World Cup, so I think I earn this trophy.”
The Best FIFA Goalkeeper is chosen by ‘a panel of experts chosen by FIFA (former goalkeepers and strikers).’
