Courtois agent advises Chelsea to accept Real Madrid offer

Chelsea risk losing Thibaut Courtois for free if they do not grant his wish and accept Real Madrid’s “reasonable” offer, the goalkeeper’s agent has warned.

Courtois, 26, has one year remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge but appears determined to leave before the transfer window closes.

The Belgian’s agent, Christophe Henrotay, has confirmed his client wants to join the European champions in order to be closer to his children, who live in Madrid.

Courtois previously spent three years at Atletico Madrid and now is ready to link up with their city rivals.

“I have been reading everywhere that Chelsea are saying it is up to Thibaut, but he has made it clear to the club that the best option for him is to move to Madrid,” Henrotay told The Sun.

“For him this is a big decision because he wants to be near his family, and there is an offer in place for Chelsea to accept.

“We have seen suggestions that it is about money and it is true he could get an increase with a move. But he has turned down a better offer elsewhere because this is more than a financial decision.”

103 – Thibaut Courtois has kept 103 clean sheets in the top 5 European leagues since his debut for Atletico Madrid in August 2011; only Gianluigi Buffon (117) has kept more. Handy. pic.twitter.com/6uFD5sbLwq

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 31, 2018

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri admitted on Friday he was unsure if Courtois, who is yet to feature in pre-season, would return to the club he joined in 2014.

Henrotay is adamant Madrid’s bid represents fair compensation for the World Cup’s Golden Glove winner.

“Throughout this it has been important for everyone to be reasonable, and the buying club has come up with a reasonable offer for a player who has one year left on his contract when they know they could sign him without a fee in 12 months,” he said.

“Chelsea could get a fair fee for him now and sign a replacement. Or they would still have to sign a replacement next summer, but without getting a fee for Thibaut.”