Looking back at it, Real Madrid did the right thing by not signing David de Gea…
You remember the whole David de Gea to Real Madrid saga, right? It feels like a lifetime ago that the famous fax machine prevented a move from happening. Well, since that moment, Los Blancos were still passionate about signing the Spanish goalkeeper. That was until 2018 when they signed Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea.
At the time, it felt like a silly transfer to make. Many were sceptical about Madrid’s choice to sign the former Atleti goalkeeper. However, after what was a shaky start to life in the Spanish capital, Courtois is starting to settle down and he’s proving to be a worthy investment.
Ageing at 27 years old, he is two years younger than David de Gea which does make a big difference. He was the long-term option for Los Blancos and it shows that investing in the younger player often prevails as the right decision.
Courtois has a league-high 11 clean sheets, just topping Jan Oblak after the weekend of El Derbi. David de Gea, on the other hand, has just 5 clean sheets. Courtois has been the better performer in some of Real Madrid’s most important games this season, including the Supercopa de Espana final, where he kept a clean sheet against his former club Atleti.
David de Gea though, has been the subject to many social media memes this season and that is indicative of some of his performances. The Spanish goalkeeper is not quite the shot-stopper he once was, as in too many games he has let the ball slip through the palms of his hands or just not been in the right position. According to the Premier League, he has made two errors leading to goal this season which is only topped by Martin Dubravka and Jan Bednarek.
It was a smart decision for Real Madrid to sign Thibaut Courtois over David de Gea, in my opinion. But what do you think? Could de Gea have been a different player at the Santiago Bernabeu?