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Thibaut Courtois says defender Arsenal sold for £15m was ‘amazing’
Thibaut Courtois has been lucky enough to play with some of the best defenders in modern history during his career.
Indeed, Courtois has won basically all there is to win at club level, and he’s done so by playing alongside some all-time greats.
Courtois is a world-class goalkeeper in his own right, but, often, a goalkeeper is only as good as the defenders in front of him.
The Belgian has been lucky enough to play with the likes of Sergio Ramos, David Luiz and John Terry during his career, and when speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s podcast about some of his best defensive teammates.
Interestingly, Courtois namechecked a former Arsenal player when discussing the best centre-backs he’s played with.
Thibaut Courtois praises Thomas Vermaelen
Courtois spoke about some of the best defenders he’s ever worked with.
The likes of Ramos, John Terry and Kompany all got special mentions, while the Real Madrid ace also said that Thomas Vermaelen was a really great defender.
Jack Wilshere recently praised Vermaelen for his finishing ability when he was at Arsenal.
“They were strong and hard. But yeah, I played with some amazing defenders. Ramos, amazing defender, JT, amazing defender. When I played the national team with Vincent Kompany and Vermaelen Vincent Kompany and Van Buyten, it’s like, I’m lucky that I could play with really great, great centre backs.”
Thibaut Courtois best defensive partners
It’s interesting that Courtois named Vermaelen as one of the best defenders he’s played with.
Indeed, while Vermaelen may not be as big of a name as a Terry or a Sergio Ramos, Courtois did have a brilliant record playing alongside the former Arsenal man.
In fact, Courtois had a greater win percentage with Vermaelen than he has any other centre-back.
| Thibaut Courtois best defensive partners | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Vermaelen | 44 | 36 | 5 | 3 | 82% |
| Vincent Kompany | 38 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 76% |
| Jan Vertonghen | 88 | 66 | 11 | 11 | 75% |
| David Alaba | 77 | 56 | 8 | 13 | 73% |
| Eder Militao | 140 | 94 | 21 | 25 | 67% |
| Sergio Ramos | 87 | 54 | 17 | 16 | 62% |
| John Terry | 66 | 37 | 22 | 7 | 56% |
Of course, Courtois has a smaller sample size in terms of games played with Vermaelen, but those results speak for themselves.
Vermaelen was a top-class defender in his day, hence why Barcelona signed him for from Arsenal.
Sadly though, injuries affected the Belgian’s career to a massive extend, and he never quite fully reached his potential for Barca.