Thibaut Courtois Relishes Opportunity To Face Parent-Club, Chelsea

Thibaut Courtois has expressed his relief, after UEFA cleared him to play against his parent club Chelsea, in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Last week, UEFA waived a fee that Atletico Madrid were to pay the Blues, if the two clubs face each other. This means the 21-year-old goalkeeper, will be between the sticks in the two legs of the encounter.

“I’m very relieved. That we’ve drawn Chelsea is special because even though I’m at Atleti, Chelsea are my club,” the Belgian told Uefa.com.

“I want to win trophies here and I’ll be an Atleti supporter for these two games, but at all other times I’m a Chelsea fan too,” added Courtois, who has never played for the Stamford Bridge club since signing a five-year contract on his arrival from Genk for an undisclosed fee in 2011.

“I hope they win the Premier League, just not these two matches. I really hope we can reach the final as we’re so close. They’re the favourites, but Barca were too.”