Furious Atletico Madrid fans remove Courtois plate
Atletico Madrid fans have reacted furiously to Thibaut Courtois’ success in the Champions League with Real Madrid by removing a special plaque commemorating his time at the club
Courtois was named man of the match for Atletico’s city rivals on Saturday night after making a stunning series of saves to deny Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah from helping Real to win the Champions League final 1-0 at the Stade de France, Paris.
The Belgian stopper enjoyed a three-year loan spell with Atlético while on Chelsea’s books, while his time at the Spanish side saw him reach the 2014 Champions League final, where they were beaten by Real 4-1 after extra time after Sergio Ramos had scored a heartbreaking equalizer in stoppage time.
After his sensational display in Paris, Courtois said: ‘I told my friends yesterday’ [Friday] that when Real Madrid play the final, they win it. I’m on the right side of history.’
Before Courtois moved from Chelsea to Real, Courtois had a plaque placed at the Wanda Metropolitano as part of the club’s ‘walk of legends’. His comments sparked anger among Atlético supporters, who had demanded his removal following the goalkeeper’s comments after the game.
Club president Enrique Cerezo then pronounced his blessing on Monday with: marca he quoted the Atletico chief telling fans: ‘If you want to remove the Courtois plaque, grab a pickaxe and shovel and remove it.’
Courtois claimed after the game that he had a desire to be on the right side of history, referring to the 2014 final he played with Atletico which he lost
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo urged fans seeking to remove Courtois plaque to use a ‘shovel and shovel’
But Courtois’s comments after the game sparked anger at Atletico fans and President Enrique Cerezo
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A few hours later, supporters did just that, with photos circulating all over social media of the removed plaque and the alleged now-blank tile it came from.
Hours after the plaque’s removal was announced online, Courtois appeared to respond to the posts by posting a tweet to his account holding the Champions League trophy with the caption ‘Hala Madrid #Champ14ns’, referring to the record 14th time the Spanish giants have now won the competition.
Courtois had previously been on loan to Atlético for three successful seasons after joining the club shortly after completing a move to Stamford Bridge in 2011.
At Atletico, he won La Liga, the Europa League and the Copa del Rey in his 154 appearances. His form was enough to land him a call-up to Chelsea’s first team to replace long-serving No. 1 Petr Cech before joining Real in 2018.