Thibaut Courtois believes Real Madrid have a better chance of topping LaLiga now Eden Hazard is fit

Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois has talked up his side’s chances of winning the league with Eden Hazard back in the team and confirmed he is no match for Gareth Bale on the golf course.

Madrid’s Belgian keeper also spoke about the many times he would talk to Hazard about joining Real Madrid when the pair were at Chelsea.  

‘Hazard is back and with a lot of energy,’ Courtois said, in an interview with Spanish outlet El Mundo. ‘The stoppage has enabled him to get fit again. He can help us win the title. He is a key player for us.’ 

Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois believes Eden Hazard’s return to fitness can be crucial

The Belgian forward is now fit after being out of action since November due to injury 

Courtois continued: ‘I’ve known him for nine years and he has always wanted to play here – it was his dream. When we were both at Chelsea we spoke about the possibility of ending up playing here.

‘”La casa blanca! La casa blanca!” (white house) we would say. It was nice to imagine it and now we really want to win a lot of trophies.’

In addition, Courtois admitted he has missed playing golf during Madrid’s lockdown,  but says he is not at teammate Bale’s level.

It was Courtois who famously revealed that Bale’s nickname was ‘The Golfer’ in the Real Madrid dressing room.

Courtois also revealed that team-mate Gareth Bale is ‘too high a standard’ for him at golf 

Asked if there is anything other than football that he has missed since the State of Alarm was declared in Spain on March 14, Courtois said: ‘Golf. It relaxes me a lot. It clears my head. I play with a friend who has a very low handicap and I learn a lot from him.’

Asked if that friend is teammate Bale, who El Mundo said has a 6 handicap, he added: ‘No. Gareth has too high a standard for me. I have a 17, 18 handicap.’

The gradual lifting of restrictions on the practice of sport in Spain mean Courtois will be able to play golf from Monday as Madrid enters phase one.

Courtois’ interview was published on the sixth anniversary of the goal that Sergio Ramos headed past him in the 2014 Champions League final, when he was seconds from victory with Atletico Madrid, only for Ramos’ late leveller to take the game to extra time.

Sergio Ramos celebrates his last-minute equaliser against Atletico in the 2014 CL final 

Asked if Ramos has ever spoken to him about the goal, he said: ‘Many times. And there is a photo of the goal in the dressing room. The ball went just past my hand.’ 

The shotstopper also opened up on abuse he received earlier in the season when it was claimed he had a panic attack at half time in a game against Club Brugge, after he was blamed for Madrid going behind in the Champions League group-stage.

‘Mentally I’m very strong, I don’t need a psychologist but I think that it can really help and we shouldn’t be frivolous about the subject.

‘That’s why I got annoyed when it was published that I had an anxiety attack at half time in the game against Brugges.

It was claimed Courtois had a panic attack at half-time against Club Brugge in October 

‘There are people that have a really bad time with this. There are professionals that cannot take the pressure even NBA champion Kevin Love admitted he suffered from depression.’

Courtois also shared a memory of playing for Jose Mourinho: ‘He had me on the bench one game when I had a broken finger. 

‘He told me if we have to make a change I would rather you go on with a broken finger than a rookie. I thought to myself: yes, but if someone shoots to this hand I’m not going to be able to save it.’