Real Madrid: Ranking the top 10 players before 2019-2020 resumes

5. Real Madrid GK Thibaut Courtois

Before Thibaut Courtois joined Real Madrid from Chelsea ahead of the 2018-2019 La Liga and Champions League campaigns, he was regarded as the new best goalkeeper in the world, having outplayed David De Gea in the same league.

Courtois’ reputation took a massive hit after 2018-2019, as he was among several Real Madrid players who struggled without Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane around. His 2019-2020 season started in similarly disappointing fashion, as he was clearly “The Guy” after Real sold Keylor Navas to PSG and received Alphonse Areola in return as the backup to Courtois.

There was some controversy regarding Courtois’ starting spot, but, in the end, he showed why it was wise for Florentino Perez and the club’s decision-makers to stand by him. By the end of the season, Courtois led the league in goals allowed per 90 minutes and the percentage of games with a clean sheet. There were so many times where Courtois kept the team in the game with insane saves, such as against Getafe and Barcelona in the second half of the season.

Courtois pitched clean sheets in all five games against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, outplaying fellow elite goalkeepers Jan Oblak and Marc Andre ter Stegen both statistically and in head-to-head competition.