Thibaut Courtois feeling blue after Chelsea fans' react to Real Madrid transfer with anger

The former Chelsea goalkeeper completed a long-awaited £35m transfer to Real Madrid in the summer

Thibaut Courtois said that he is saddened by the anger which some Chelsea fans showed when he swapped Stamford Bridge for Real Madrid in the summer, and believes that some supporters were unaware of all the circumstances around his departure.

A number of Chelsea fans were unhappy when Courtois failed to report to training following the World Cup, but the Belgium international goalkeeper said he decided in March that he was going to peruse a move back to Spain following the summer tournament.

Courtois spent the first three seasons of his seven years at Chelsea on loan with Atletico Madrid and wanted to move back to the Spanish capital to be with his two children, who live there with his ex-girlfriend.

Courtois recently made his Real Madrid debut against Leganes (Getty)

“It makes me feel sad and obviously they don’t know all the truth,” said Courtois when asked about the criticism he faced.

“I think in March the decision was already made and I thought the club would accept it. Then because the transfer was closed I did not show up because I thought it better not to disturb the team and the squad.”

“If I did go there maybe, I didn’t want to be toxic, so obviously it is a pity because I love Chelsea,” he added.

“I loved playing there and I am happy to have won two Premier Leagues, a league cup and an FA Cup.”

Courtois recently suggested that the quality at Real Madrid was much better than at Chelsea, but is adamant that he never wanted to disrespect his former side.

“Obviously you get some things in the media like I said there was not enough quality at Chelsea,” he said.

Courtois apologised for saying standards are higher at his new club (Getty Images)

“I never meant that. I just said maybe in training it goes a little bit faster but that is also the quality of Real Madrid – that is not saying Chelsea does not have quality.”

“I will always look back with a happy feeling to Chelsea,” the goalkeeper added. “I had a chance to go back to Spain to be closer to my kids. That was an important thing for me.

“I know that a lot of Chelsea fans will understand my decision. I wish them the best and I am happy to see that they have won their first four games and I hope they can go on and win the league.”