Real Madrid: Here are 5 players who deserve more widespread praise

GK Thibaut Courtois

It’s difficult to answer the question of who the best goalkeeper in the world is. Liverpool’s Alisson is excellent, for example, and La Liga’s Jan Oblak and Marc Andre ter Stegen deserve all the praise they receive for their superhuman efforts.

But here’s what I find surprising. Oblak and ter Stegen are frequently mentioned as candidates for being the best in the world, yet Thibaut Courtois doesn’t receive nearly as many mentions. Statistically, Courtois was the best of the three superstar goalkeepers in the league last season.

According to FBRef.com, Courtois tied David Soria for the league lead with 12 clean sheets despite having three fewer starts. The Belgian goalkeeper also had a higher save percentage than either Oblak or ter Stegen and led the league with 0.67 goals allowed per 90 minutes. Oblak was second in this stat.

Courtios makes game-changing saves and has become exponentially more confident in goal for Los Blancos. Yes, his Real Madrid career began roughly, but he is now back to his status as arguably the best goalkeeper in the world.

In all honesty, Courtois should be regarded as the best right now. With the caveat that he benefited from several other players listed here, such as Casemiro and Raphael Varane at the heart of the defense, Courtois outshined ter Stegen and Oblak in the same league. And some of his saves this season, such as two big first-half stops against Getafe, were insane.