To make up for the absence of Thibaut Courtois, Real Madrid loaned Kepa Arrizabalaga, a Spanish goalkeeper whom Florentino Pérez was already targeting in December 2017 before a huge pressure from Zinedine Zidane.
” If he comes, I leave “. This is, in essence, what Zinédine Zidane, then Real Madrid coach, had launched to Florentino Pérez, threatening to slam the door of the Casa Blanca. Upon returning from the Club World Cup in December 2017, in Abu Dhabi, the president of Casa Blanca had informed his French coach of an agreement for the arrival of Kepa Arrizabalaga, then a young goalkeeper from Athletic Bilbao.
This choice had infuriated “Zizou”, decided not to compete with his goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, with whom he had won 3 Champions Leagues in a row, against Atlético in 2016 (1-1, 5 tab at 3), Juventus in 2017 (4-1) and Liverpool in 2018 (3-1). This is what Fred Hermel, ex-RMC correspondent in Madrid, recalled on the radio on Monday evening, when Kepa was recruited by Real, on loan from Chelsea, after Thibaut’s serious knee injury. Courteous.
For the record, Zidane left the Madrid bench after the coronation of 2018, and Florentino Pérez took the opportunity to recruit Courtois (for 35 million euros). Julen Lopetegui, Santiago Solari and Zinedine Zidane (back in March 2019) alternated between the Belgian goalkeeper and Navas, helping neither goalkeeper shine. The Merengues had finished 3rd in La Liga after losing in the round of 16 of the LDC against Ajax.
