Real Madrid News
Official: Thibaut Courtois wins the Yashin Trophy for the Best Goalkeeper in Europe
Real Madrid are having the time of their life right now. Following the Champions League and La Liga double last season, Los Blancos are flying high in both competitions right now.
They are three points clear in the league after beating Barcelona 3-1 yesterday at the Santiago Bernabeu, and current leaders of their UCL group.
Karim Benzema is the favourite to pick up the Ballon d’Or, and Thibaut Courtois has now picked up the Yashin Trophy for the Best Goalkeeper in Europe. Former Ballon d’Or winners are the voters for this award, which started in 2019.
THIBAUT COURTOIS IS THE 2022 YACHINE TROPHY WINNER!@realmadrid#TrophéeYachine #balondor pic.twitter.com/llvIhMm1iz
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
Liverpool’s Alisson was the first winner of it, followed by Gianluigi Donnarumma in 2021 for his plaudits with Italy in the European Championship. It was, along with other awards by France Football, cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Alisson is the runners up this year, with Manchester City’s Ederson third, Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy fourth, and AC Milan’s Mike Maignan fifth.
Manchester City have now joined the ever-growing list of admirers for Celta Vigo midfielder and Real Madrid target Gabri Veiga, reports Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail.
The 20-year-old midfielder has emerged as one of the breakout stars of La Liga this season, having impressed with his goalscoring abilities from the centre of the park. Indeed, the youngster has notched up nine goals in La Liga and his exploits have made the giants of Europe sit up and take notice.
Real Madrid are said to be interested in Veiga’s services heading into the summer. The Merengues have Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Dani Ceballos on expiring contracts and it is unlikely that all three will be renewed, especially with Jude Bellingham being on the agenda.
In case of Modric and Kroos, even if they stay, it will likely be for only a season at the most. Hence, Los Blancos could require more than one central midfielder come summer, with Veiga emerging as an option.
The 20-year-old was also attracting interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid. Now, Manchester City have also jumped on the bandwagon of clubs interested in Veiga’s services.
The Cityzens, who are battling Real Madrid for Bellingham as well, are set to lose Ilkay Gundogan in the summer when his contract expires. Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva’s future is also far from certain, thus necessitating the signing of another midfielder.
Veiga has a release clause worth €40 million in his contract with Celta Vigo, which should not be a problem for either Real Madrid or Manchester City.
Celta Vigo president Carlos Mourino recently admitted that the midfielder could leave the club in the summer, saying:
“We don’t want to sell Gabri Veiga, but they are going to buy him from us. And we can’t do anything there. We know some of his offers and it is impossible to reach them.
“There are several teams behind Gabri. Real Madrid? They haven’t asked us, we don’t know if they will have called the player. Of the top 10 in the Premier League, four have asked about him.”
It will certainly be interesting to see whether Real Madrid are prepared to go all out for Veiga’s signing or decide to entirely focus on their pursuit of Bellingham.
