Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois was interviewed by Cadena SER. In the sixth part of this exclusive interview, Courtois discussed Real Madrid's performance this season, FC Barcelona and Raphinha, the Ballon d'Or voting, and the situation of goalkeepers in Ballon d'Or voting.

After winning La Liga and the Champions League with Ancelotti in 2024, was it inevitable that there would be a difficult period following such a successful run? FC Barcelona experienced this before that period, and Real Madrid also experienced it after Zidane led the team to three consecutive Champions League titles.

That's ultimately how football works. I think no matter how much we try to maintain consistency, football always has its peaks and valleys because there are many uncertainties in a season and many things happen along the way. I don't think you necessarily have to go through a difficult period before you can win the title again, but it happens often.

Sometimes you might be lacking just 1% of the winning mentality, and then you don't win, or other teams want to win more than usual because they need to win, and so they end up winning. That's why I think we need to rediscover all of that. I think we've played well this year. Ultimately, I think the two league matches we lost were more down to us not taking our chances to win them.

Do you think this will be a year of change?

I believe so. I sense a change in everyone, including their work ethic, their desire, and their mentality. I think everyone wants to win. I don't think anyone here doesn't want to win.

Are the issues you identified last season regarding how the team plays on the pitch being gradually resolved?

I believe so. Ultimately, we've been working on it, and we haven't been together for long. The team has many new players and a new coach. After a very long World Cup, everyone needs to get back into their rhythm, get to know each other, and find the structure we want to have on the pitch.

I think sometimes we're very close. There are many matches where we've played well, and some where we could have been better in certain aspects, because in football there's very little room for error now. If you miss a small chance in one penalty area and the opponent converts a slightly better chance in the other penalty area, you can suddenly lose the match.

For example, against Betis—that's how I felt. But in my opinion, we played a very good match against Betis; there was nothing wrong with our performance itself.

It was the same against Atlético Madrid; they're always a tough opponent. The first half seemed very even to me; I don't think either side had a clear advantage. We had more possession and sometimes found space, but they defended very well because they have a very strong defense. Early in the second half, after 5 or 10 minutes, we had a player sent off. At that point, we lost a bit of composure on the ball. Then they scored two quick goals, and it took us some time to recover. But after we pulled one back, I think if the match had gone another 10 minutes, we could have equalized.

Do you think FC Barcelona is as good as everyone sees them right now?

They're playing very well right now. Ultimately, this is a team that scores goals very easily, so they can win matches.

For example, Raphinha—after a summer with transfer rumors about Julián Álvarez, did you expect him to play like this?

I really like Raphinha. I've always seen him as a very important member of FC Barcelona. When he's not there, I think Barcelona is significantly weakened, and when he's on the pitch, the team plays well. That's why I think Raphinha sometimes doesn't get the recognition he deserves. He's a very important member of this team and can score many goals because he's a very good player. But we need to find a way to stop him in a month, right?

You also have a very good reputation. During the World Cup this summer, I was with Unai Simón and put him through a goalkeeper test. I kept asking him: "Oblak or Casillas?" and he chose Casillas. When I then asked about Courtois, he waved me off and said: "That's it."

Yes, I saw that too. When I was interviewed, Belgian television also showed me that video. Ultimately, of course, I'm pleased that a colleague speaks about you like that. Because ultimately, more or less everyone knows about goalkeepers, but not everyone really understands the position. So when a colleague praises you like that, I think it's wonderful.

And he was honest, because he could easily have given a different answer to protect his national teammate David Raya.

Yes, that happens often. Since I'm now Real Madrid's goalkeeper, it might not be appropriate for Barcelona's goalkeeper to openly praise me or choose me, even though he might have mentioned my name the previous year. But in my opinion, all of that is pointless gamesmanship. I have no mental burden in publicly praising Lamine Yamal, because the facts are on the table: he really plays extremely well on the pitch; similarly, Barcelona players can openly admit that Mbappé scores goals like crazy.

Now there's a lot of discussion about whether the biggest favorite for this year's Ballon d'Or is Yamal or Mbappé.

Both have been outstanding. But I think there will be others on the shortlist as well—for example, Harry Kane certainly has a chance, and Bellingham too. In my opinion, the Ballon d'Or should be awarded to the player with the best individual performance over the entire year and shouldn't simply be based on team success, because it's an individual award, not about which team won the most trophies. If you only look at team trophies, then Carvajal, if Paris Saint-Germain had won the Champions League and Spain had won the World Cup, would have had to win the Ballon d'Or two years ago by that logic. Carvajal's performance this year was phenomenal and fully deserved the award. So the Ballon d'Or doesn't necessarily have to go to a player from the winning team; even if a player's team hasn't won anything, but he scored a hundred goals in a single season and his individual dominance was unmatched, then he's the undisputed player of the year.

So if you had to choose, would your choice be Mbappé?

For me, yes. Once you've seen Kylian play on the pitch with your own eyes, you'll understand how incredible what he does on the field is. When I talk privately with my teammates and friends from the national team, everyone is amazed by his abnormal, exceptional speed. Dribbling past defenders at high speed, so easily, as if there were no defenders on the pitch at all, completely overwhelming opponents with pure speed—that's really breathtaking. Of course, his incredible goal-scoring statistics are also a huge bonus. But on the other hand, every voter has their own criteria and subjective views. Like the year I won the Champions League in Paris (2022 final), I ultimately finished seventh, and I genuinely felt my ranking should have been higher.

Goalkeepers always complain: Why does nobody ever vote for us goalkeepers?

Exactly. Many voting journalists will say: "Stop complaining, we've already nominated you for the Yashin Award." Once they vote for the Yashin Award, they completely forget about you when voting for the Ballon d'Or. But the reality is interconnected; no matter how many saves I make in front of goal, if the strikers don't score goals, we won't win the final. I often joke about it; whenever I see replays of the Paris final on television or in promotional materials, the screen is full of Vinicius' winning goal, and there's not a single shot of my save against Salah! I protest to them jokingly and say: "At least include one shot of my save!" But that's how opinion in football has always been. Of course, I hope there will be a day when a goalkeeper breaks through that prejudice, but honestly, I think the hope is slim, because there are increasingly exclusive awards for goalkeepers, so voters tend to give their Ballon d'Or votes to other positions.

Übersetzt von KI.

Die AF-Website ist jetzt online! Vollständige Nachrichten, Kommentare, Spieldetails und Statistiken auf dem Computer. Besuchen Sie: www.allfootballapp.com