Courtois says Villarreal v Barcelona "distorts" LaLiga

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·21 ottobre 2025

Courtois says Villarreal v Barcelona "distorts" LaLiga

The Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid criticized on Tuesday the decision to hold the LaLiga match between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami, United States, on December 20, stating that the measure “distorts the competition”.

“It’s easy to talk about the NBA, the NFL. The NBA has 82 games, and in the end they play for a playoff spot, which doesn’t change anything; the NFL is voted on by the owners of all the teams,” said Courtois at a press conference before the Champions League clash against Juventus.

The Belgian continued to criticize the LaLiga decision, made without consulting the players:

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“It distorts the competition” and “does not honor the agreement with the athletes,” he emphasized.

Internal support at Real Madrid

With these statements, Courtois joins the criticism previously made by coach Xabi Alonso and captain Dani Carvajal, both opposed to holding the match outside Spain.

Real Madrid has consistently positioned itself against changing the venue of national championship matches, arguing that all games should take place at the clubs’ stadiums.

“It’s not the same playing at home or away. Playing away in LaLiga is very complicated, as we saw against Real Sociedad or Getafe. Villarreal away is difficult,” said the goalkeeper, who will complete 300 matches for Real Madrid.

Criticism of Javier Tebas and Laporta

Courtois also criticized LaLiga president Javier Tebas for allegedly censoring player protests at the start of last weekend’s matches, which lasted 15 seconds and were barely shown on TV.

“I don’t know what’s surprising, because he’s been doing this for a while, responding publicly on social media. I’ve never seen a league president in any sport act like this. Hiding and manipulating the reason for the protest is serious,” he said.

The goalkeeper also responded to statements by Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who insinuated that Real Madrid was favored by refereeing decisions.

“Laporta says what he has to say because of the Negreira case,” commented Courtois, referring to the investigation into Barcelona’s payments to former refereeing official José María Enríquez Negreira.