Real Madrid veteran superstar sets a key objective for himself this season

At 34, Thibaut Courtois is entering his ninth season as a Real Madrid player and has set himself a new objective: winning his fourth Zamora Trophy, which would put him in an exclusive group of goalkeepers.

Indeed, according to AS, the Real Madrid goalkeeper is aiming to become La Liga’s least-beaten goalkeeper again – a feat he has not achieved it since the 2019-20 season.

If he succeeds, Courtois would become only the sixth goalkeeper in La Liga history to win the award four or more times.

He would join Juan Acuna and Santiago Canizares on four, while Antoni Ramallets and Victor Valdes won five and Jan Oblak holds the record with six.

Courtois wants to be the No. 1 in La Liga again. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Interestingly, Courtois has won the Zamora more often with Atlético Madrid (twice) than with Real Madrid (once), despite spending only three seasons with the Rojiblancos compared with eight at the Santiago Bernabeu.

His only Zamora at the Santiago Bernabeu came in 2019-20, when he conceded just 20 goals in 34 league appearances and helped Real Madrid win the title.

Since then, injuries and defensive inconsistency have prevented him from reclaiming the award.

The number of goals a team concedes does not depend solely on its goalkeeper. The defence matters too, and Real Madrid have recognized that.

The club focused heavily on strengthening the backline this summer, with three of their six new signings being defenders.

Courtois has won the Zamora Trophy only once at Real Madrid. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

The arrivals of Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konate and Denzel Dumfries reinforce a defence that has suffered repeated setbacks in recent seasons.

Serious injuries have frequently forced Real Madrid to improvise, but the squad now has greater depth and quality at the back.

That should help manager Jose Mourinho implement one of the defining principles of his teams: a solid defence capable of conceding very few goals.

All of this could benefit Courtois, who is one of Mourinho’s untouchables, as he tries to take the Zamora Trophy away from Joan Garcia. The Barcelona goalkeeper won the award in his first season at the Spotify Camp Nou.

Now Courtois, having recovered from the injury he had sustained at the World Cup, wants to prevent him from repeating the feat and prove once again that he is the best goalkeeper in La Liga.