Thibaut Courtois won the Player of the Year award in last season’s Champions League final, but the Belgian goalkeeper finished seventh in the Ballon d’Or on Monday, leaving him frustrated over how to win the award for the best player in the world.
Courtois, who saved several dangerous chances in Real’s victory over Liverpool thanks to Vinicius Junior’s goal in the Champions League final in Paris in May, was awarded the Lev Yashin award for best goalkeeper in the world at the Ballon d’Or gala, but that did not satisfy his desire for more.
“I mightn’t have had a better season than this, especially with saving balls in the Champions League,” Courtois told Archyde.com following his honor, where his Real Madrid colleague Karim Benzema won the Ballon d’Or. As a goalkeeper you can’t do more than win the league and the Champions League like we did.
Last year, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma finished 10th in the Ballon d’Or following being named player of the year in the European Championship final when he led Italy to beat England on penalties.
Courtois said: “Of course it’s great to be in the top ten, but unfortunately when the vote comes, goalkeepers are ignored with the attackers favored.
He continued: It’s not important, but goalkeepers are underestimated even though we are very involved in the game and sometimes we play almost like playmakers.
Yashin, who comes from the former Soviet Union, is the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or in 1963.