Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remains a big fan of Xabi Alonso but admits the club needed someone with the presence of Jose Mourinho.
Alonso was brought in to much fanfare in 2025 after guiding Bayer Leverkusen to their maiden Bundesliga title and was expected to galvanise a Madrid squad that surrendered their La Liga crown to Barcelona, lost to their arch-rivals in the final of the Copa del Rey and crashed out of the Champions League to Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
But it did not pan out that way with Alonso departing after less than eight months in charge following reported disagreements with president Florentino Perez and star striker Kylian Mbappe.
Courtois was saddened by Alonso’s failure at the Santiago Bernabeu and is taking a keen interest in how he gets on at one of the Belgian’s former clubs, Chelsea.
He said: “When results go wrong, it’s always easy to point at the coach. In some cases the dynamic was not good, but with other players it was. I loved it. I liked the way he trained. He is a great coach and, if they give him time [at Chelsea], he will do well.”
Jose Mourinho ‘fills the room’ – Real Madrid star Courtois
Alonso was replaced by Alvaro Arbeloa at Madrid but the former Spain full-back struggled to win over a difficult dressing room that imploded with reports of widespread disagreements culminating in a training ground fracas between Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde that left the latter requiring hospital treatment.
Arbeloa left at the end of last season with Perez deciding a firm hand was needed. He opted for Mourinho who returned to the club 13 years after his first spell came to an acrimonious end.
And Courtois, who worked under the Portuguese during his time at Chelsea, feels it was a sensible appointment.
“I was very happy with his return, I was excited,” said the Belgium international. “He wrote to me when he arrived in Madrid, but I ignored his message for two weeks. I was on a flight and didn’t see it!
“He tells us that he has matured, that with experience he is calmer. At Chelsea he was harder in the dressing room, but he still has the same personality. He fills the room; you can see his presence when he enters the dressing room. We needed something like that.”
Bellingham key to Real Madrid revival
Mourinho’s impact was not instant but the results are now starting to arrive. Madrid went into the international break on the back of eight successive wins in all competitions, including a 2-1 victory at Barcelona that suggests this year’s title race is wide open.
Key to their success has been the form of Jude Bellingham. The England midfielder, who was this week named in the FIFPro World XI alongside team-mate Mbappe as well as Lionel Messi, has scored five goals and added two assists in 16 games and Courtois is full of praise for the former Borussia Dortmund man.
“I value Bellingham very much. He is a great person, a good friend and a great footballer,” said Courtois. “He had a great first season, but last year, like everyone else, didn’t play like he can. He also had a great World Cup; he was the best player for England. Now he is showing that level in Madrid and he is very important for us, both with the ball and in defensive tasks. I hope he ends up winning many titles.”
Madrid, who are second in the table, three points behind Barca, return to La Liga action a week on Saturday with a home game against Celta Vigo.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
