It was reported on Wednesday that Thibaut Courtois has signed a six-year contract with Real Madrid, the winner of the last three seasons of the UEFA Champions League.

Courtois, 26, played for Chelsea between 2014 and 2018. Both the Spaniards and Belgians wanted to put an end to Courtois' adventure at Chelsea. The first speculation about a transfer appeared one month ago. Moreover, the Belgian goalkeeper did not show up at Chelsea's training and put pressure on the English side for his departure to the Spanish club.

Real Madrid announce the transfer

Real Madrid announced the completion of the transfer on their official website. The transfer amount for the player is around £31m/$40m and the deal also includes Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who will be loaned out for the rest of the season to Chelsea.

With Chelsea, Courtois won two Premier League titles (2015, 2017), one League Cup (2015) and the F.A. Cup (2018). In addition, the Belgian goalie was loaned out by Chelsea to Real Madrid's rivals Atletico de Madrid between 2011 and 2014. With Atletico, he managed to win the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Supercup in 2012, the Spanish La Liga in 2014 and also reach the 2014 UEFA Champions League final. Chelsea bought him from Genk after the Belgian side won the Belgian Pro League in the 2010-2011 season.

Courtois best goalkeeper at 2018 FIFA

At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Courtois was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament and helped Belgium to reach the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by France, the BBC reported. Nonetheless, Belgium secured third place with a victory over England. Courtois's performances were essential for the Belgium national team, especially in matches from the group stage and the quarter-final confrontation against Brazil as well as the third-place play-off with England.

However, Chelsea agreed to sell Courtois to Real Madrid after they found a replacement for him: Kepa Arrizabalaga. The former champions of England paid Kepa's release clause, which was about £71m / $90m, making him the most expensive goalkeeper in football's history. This record was held by Italian Gianluigi Buffon, who was transferred from Parma to Juventus in 2001, and Brazilian Alisson.

Alisson was brought to Anfield Road last month from Roma for a fee around 62m euros / $71m. Kepa will stay seven years at Stamford Bridge, according to details of his contract. Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought from Spanish side Athletic Bilbao and took part in Spain's squad for 2018 FIFA World Cup.