According to The Telegraph, Chelsea’s £73m valuation of their star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has halted Real Madrid’s pursuit of the Belgian.
The fee, which would have equalled the world record €100m Madrid paid for Gareth Bale, has left the Spanish giants turning their full attention to Manchester United’s David De Gea.
And despite Courtois being Real’s first choice, the club president Florentino Pérez has revealed that he hopes to make a move for De Gea within the next week.
The Telegraph reported that Madrid were willing to pay £37m for Courtois, which would have made the Belgian the most expensive goalkeeper ever.
However when they inquired, the Blues informed Real that to stand any chance of signing the keeper they would have to double the original fee.
This is not the first time that Mourinho has demanded a world record fee for one of his star players; previously stating that Real would have to pay £100m for just one of Eden Hazard’s legs.
After winning both the Barclay’s Premier League and the Capital One Cup this season, Mourinho has highlighted that keeping his best players this summer is more important than signing any big-name players, after halting a bid from his former club for Courtois.
Furthermore, Chelsea have stated that right-back Branislav Ivanovic is close to signing an extension to his current contract which is due to expire next summer.
However, one Chelsea goalkeeper who is set to leave the club this summer is Petr Cech, who has been short-listed as one of the leading targets to replace De Gea at United, should the Spaniard move to Madrid.
