Wilmots: "Courtois is going to Chelsea"

Posted Tuesday, June 24, 2014 by Marca.com

Wilmots:

"Yes, he's going to Chelsea," said the Belgium manager, Marc Wilmots, when asked in Rio de Janeiro about the future of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who has been playing for Atlético de Madrid on loan for the past three seasons.

Wilmots was speaking to the former Liverpool and France manager Gerard Houllier, now a commentator, who did not realise that there was a Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF) camera beside them.

What was presumably a personal conversation took place inside the Maracanã stadium after the game that put the 'Diables Rouges' through to the last 16 with a 1-0 win over Russia.

The return of 'Tibu' to Stamford Bridge, where he is under contract, had already been floated by José Mourinho, leaving the future of the Czech shotstopper Petr Cech up in the air after 10 seasons between the Chelsea sticks.

"And what's going to happen to Cech? Are they selling him?" Houllier asked Wilmots during the chat. "Yes, they might do," replied the Belgium manager.

Days earlier, reports circulated in the Spanish press of an alleged revelation of an imminent move to London by the 22-year-old player's girlfriend, Marta Domínguez, to friends in Madrid.

Courtois, on the other hand, said on Sunday that he was focusing on the World Cup and did not want to talk about his future.

"Atlético are not ruled out. It's difficult, but not ruled out. We're at the World Cup at the moment and when it ends we'll talk and see how it works out," he said in response to a barrage of questions.