Courtois revealed De Gea blocked Manchester United move

Thibaut Courtois and Manchester United's paths could have crossed had it not been for one of the best goalkeepers in history, as David de Gea blocked a possible move of the Real Madrid goalkeeper to the Red Devils.

The Belgium international explained in an interview with Rio Ferdinand that as a teenager he followed Real Madrid and Manchester United matches because his idols were Iker Casillar and Erwin van der Sar. 

"Yeah, I loved Edwin van der Sar and Casillas. So Casillas was because of his young age when he came into the goal at Madrid. At my age, I think I was like 12 or 11 at that time. Like I was just starting being goalkeeper. I really also blew my mind. Like, wow, he's in Real Madrid. And I always followed those games. And then I followed always Manchester United for Edwin," he said.

Asked about the former Manchester United centre-back, the Belgian goalkeeper explained why he did not sign for the Red Devils when he could.. "Well, they signed David, you know. So that helped me shape my path in a different way.

"That moment when I was at Genk starting to do something decent. Obviously, there was some interest of Tottenham at that moment. There was some interest of Chelsea, some other teams from other countries," he added.

"And obviously Chelsea at that moment had the best project for me on the long term. And basically because David was going to Manchester, it opened the door for me to go alone to Atletico. And basically, I think that transfer for me made me into the goalkeeper I am today," he concluded on the matter.

 

February 18, 2025