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I’m happy to be going back with fans there this time after having played in an empty stadium last year. I spent four years at Chelsea, where I won an FA Cup, a League Cup and two Premier League titles. It’s a club I love, to which I owe a lot. It’s the club that signed me from Genk, sent me on loan to Atlético and gave me the choice to go there and gain experience. It remains a special club for me. I’m happy when they win titles; I know a lot of players there. I was sad when we lost there last year, but I was happy that the club went on to win the Champions League. I hope that it will be a happy return. Of course we’re rivals – they want to win and I want to win – so I’m not asking for any applause; I hope I’m not going to get booed but you never know. I hope it will be OK, as those fans remain special to me.
What I struggle with is the way the media turned on me, spending the whole season claiming I wanted to leave. Because it happened at the last minute, as the transfer window was about to shut, it caused a few problems, so I can understand why the fans were angry at me. However, they have a very good ‘keeper now in Édouard Mendy, and I’m very happy at Madrid.
When I come here to the training centre and see the Real Madrid badge, it’s sometimes a case of thinking, “Pinch me, it’s true then. It’s not a dream, is it?” And when you get to play in games like the one against Paris, where the atmosphere in the stadium is so heated, it’s even more fantastic. Obviously the first few weeks and months were incredible. It got even better when I won my first trophy. I’ll keep on trying to chase my dreams, including winning the Champions League. The journey is still on. I don’t think even in my dreams that I could have imagined that I would one day play for Real Madrid.
As goalkeepers, we know that’s the way it is. We’re a small group within a big squad of players. We train together, so it’s important that we get on with one another. Competition for places is very important. I experienced it at Atlético Madrid, at Genk at the start of my career, at Chelsea with Petr Čech, a legendary keeper. Competition for places is never going to go away, especially when you’re at a big club. When you arrive as a new player and you’re competing with a ‘keeper who’s already won plenty of trophies, it’s always going to be difficult because he wants to play too,. It’s always gone well for me; I’ve never had a problem with another player. Each goalkeeper wants to play and gives it their all on the training pitch; if you’re on the bench you have to train harder – that’s how it works.
Growing up, you start watching ‘keepers and having idols. It was incredible for me to watch him play,. I remember the first game I played against him: it was special asking for his shirt because I was only 19. Life can be odd sometimes because 12 or 13 years ago I was playing for Genk’s second team, and I could never imagine that someone like Casillas would be a friend, or that it’d just be normal to be alongside the likes of Karim Benzema, Marcelo or Sergio Ramos in the changing room. Even at Chelsea with John Terry, Didier Drogba... They’ve become friends and colleagues afterwards, which is nice.
I’d say a goalkeeper’s best years are between 28 and 33. I think your best years are when your body is still perfect and you’re a bit experienced. So I think that in the past two or three years I’ve played to a very high standard. It’s nice to be recognised by great players. I don’t like saying that I’m the best, because that’s up to the experts and the analysts. It depends: some people will prefer me, some people will prefer another goalkeeper and some people will say that I’m one of the worst. It’s always open for debate but it’s nice to be part of such a select group.
I’m happy to be going back with fans there this time after having played in an empty stadium last year. I spent four years at Chelsea, where I won an FA Cup, a League Cup and two Premier League titles. It’s a club I love, to which I owe a lot. It’s the club that signed me from Genk, sent me on loan to Atlético and gave me the choice to go there and gain experience. It remains a special club for me. I’m happy when they win titles; I know a lot of players there. I was sad when we lost there last year, but I was happy that the club went on to win the Champions League. I hope that it will be a happy return. Of course we’re rivals – they want to win and I want to win – so I’m not asking for any applause; I hope I’m not going to get booed but you never know. I hope it will be OK, as those fans remain special to me.
What I struggle with is the way the media turned on me, spending the whole season claiming I wanted to leave. Because it happened at the last minute, as the transfer window was about to shut, it caused a few problems, so I can understand why the fans were angry at me. However, they have a very good ‘keeper now in Édouard Mendy, and I’m very happy at Madrid.
When I come here to the training centre and see the Real Madrid badge, it’s sometimes a case of thinking, “Pinch me, it’s true then. It’s not a dream, is it?” And when you get to play in games like the one against Paris, where the atmosphere in the stadium is so heated, it’s even more fantastic. Obviously the first few weeks and months were incredible. It got even better when I won my first trophy. I’ll keep on trying to chase my dreams, including winning the Champions League. The journey is still on. I don’t think even in my dreams that I could have imagined that I would one day play for Real Madrid.
As goalkeepers, we know that’s the way it is. We’re a small group within a big squad of players. We train together, so it’s important that we get on with one another. Competition for places is very important. I experienced it at Atlético Madrid, at Genk at the start of my career, at Chelsea with Petr Čech, a legendary keeper. Competition for places is never going to go away, especially when you’re at a big club. When you arrive as a new player and you’re competing with a ‘keeper who’s already won plenty of trophies, it’s always going to be difficult because he wants to play too,. It’s always gone well for me; I’ve never had a problem with another player. Each goalkeeper wants to play and gives it their all on the training pitch; if you’re on the bench you have to train harder – that’s how it works.
Growing up, you start watching ‘keepers and having idols. It was incredible for me to watch him play,. I remember the first game I played against him: it was special asking for his shirt because I was only 19. Life can be odd sometimes because 12 or 13 years ago I was playing for Genk’s second team, and I could never imagine that someone like Casillas would be a friend, or that it’d just be normal to be alongside the likes of Karim Benzema, Marcelo or Sergio Ramos in the changing room. Even at Chelsea with John Terry, Didier Drogba... They’ve become friends and colleagues afterwards, which is nice.
I’d say a goalkeeper’s best years are between 28 and 33. I think your best years are when your body is still perfect and you’re a bit experienced. So I think that in the past two or three years I’ve played to a very high standard. It’s nice to be recognised by great players. I don’t like saying that I’m the best, because that’s up to the experts and the analysts. It depends: some people will prefer me, some people will prefer another goalkeeper and some people will say that I’m one of the worst. It’s always open for debate but it’s nice to be part of such a select group.
I’m happy to be going back with fans there this time after having played in an empty stadium last year. I spent four years at Chelsea, where I won an FA Cup, a League Cup and two Premier League titles. It’s a club I love, to which I owe a lot. It’s the club that signed me from Genk, sent me on loan to Atlético and gave me the choice to go there and gain experience. It remains a special club for me. I’m happy when they win titles; I know a lot of players there. I was sad when we lost there last year, but I was happy that the club went on to win the Champions League. I hope that it will be a happy return. Of course we’re rivals – they want to win and I want to win – so I’m not asking for any applause; I hope I’m not going to get booed but you never know. I hope it will be OK, as those fans remain special to me.
What I struggle with is the way the media turned on me, spending the whole season claiming I wanted to leave. Because it happened at the last minute, as the transfer window was about to shut, it caused a few problems, so I can understand why the fans were angry at me. However, they have a very good ‘keeper now in Édouard Mendy, and I’m very happy at Madrid.
When I come here to the training centre and see the Real Madrid badge, it’s sometimes a case of thinking, “Pinch me, it’s true then. It’s not a dream, is it?” And when you get to play in games like the one against Paris, where the atmosphere in the stadium is so heated, it’s even more fantastic. Obviously the first few weeks and months were incredible. It got even better when I won my first trophy. I’ll keep on trying to chase my dreams, including winning the Champions League. The journey is still on. I don’t think even in my dreams that I could have imagined that I would one day play for Real Madrid.
As goalkeepers, we know that’s the way it is. We’re a small group within a big squad of players. We train together, so it’s important that we get on with one another. Competition for places is very important. I experienced it at Atlético Madrid, at Genk at the start of my career, at Chelsea with Petr Čech, a legendary keeper. Competition for places is never going to go away, especially when you’re at a big club. When you arrive as a new player and you’re competing with a ‘keeper who’s already won plenty of trophies, it’s always going to be difficult because he wants to play too,. It’s always gone well for me; I’ve never had a problem with another player. Each goalkeeper wants to play and gives it their all on the training pitch; if you’re on the bench you have to train harder – that’s how it works.
Growing up, you start watching ‘keepers and having idols. It was incredible for me to watch him play,. I remember the first game I played against him: it was special asking for his shirt because I was only 19. Life can be odd sometimes because 12 or 13 years ago I was playing for Genk’s second team, and I could never imagine that someone like Casillas would be a friend, or that it’d just be normal to be alongside the likes of Karim Benzema, Marcelo or Sergio Ramos in the changing room. Even at Chelsea with John Terry, Didier Drogba... They’ve become friends and colleagues afterwards, which is nice.
I’d say a goalkeeper’s best years are between 28 and 33. I think your best years are when your body is still perfect and you’re a bit experienced. So I think that in the past two or three years I’ve played to a very high standard. It’s nice to be recognised by great players. I don’t like saying that I’m the best, because that’s up to the experts and the analysts. It depends: some people will prefer me, some people will prefer another goalkeeper and some people will say that I’m one of the worst. It’s always open for debate but it’s nice to be part of such a select group.
I’m happy to be going back with fans there this time after having played in an empty stadium last year. I spent four years at Chelsea, where I won an FA Cup, a League Cup and two Premier League titles. It’s a club I love, to which I owe a lot. It’s the club that signed me from Genk, sent me on loan to Atlético and gave me the choice to go there and gain experience. It remains a special club for me. I’m happy when they win titles; I know a lot of players there. I was sad when we lost there last year, but I was happy that the club went on to win the Champions League. I hope that it will be a happy return. Of course we’re rivals – they want to win and I want to win – so I’m not asking for any applause; I hope I’m not going to get booed but you never know. I hope it will be OK, as those fans remain special to me.
What I struggle with is the way the media turned on me, spending the whole season claiming I wanted to leave. Because it happened at the last minute, as the transfer window was about to shut, it caused a few problems, so I can understand why the fans were angry at me. However, they have a very good ‘keeper now in Édouard Mendy, and I’m very happy at Madrid.
When I come here to the training centre and see the Real Madrid badge, it’s sometimes a case of thinking, “Pinch me, it’s true then. It’s not a dream, is it?” And when you get to play in games like the one against Paris, where the atmosphere in the stadium is so heated, it’s even more fantastic. Obviously the first few weeks and months were incredible. It got even better when I won my first trophy. I’ll keep on trying to chase my dreams, including winning the Champions League. The journey is still on. I don’t think even in my dreams that I could have imagined that I would one day play for Real Madrid.
As goalkeepers, we know that’s the way it is. We’re a small group within a big squad of players. We train together, so it’s important that we get on with one another. Competition for places is very important. I experienced it at Atlético Madrid, at Genk at the start of my career, at Chelsea with Petr Čech, a legendary keeper. Competition for places is never going to go away, especially when you’re at a big club. When you arrive as a new player and you’re competing with a ‘keeper who’s already won plenty of trophies, it’s always going to be difficult because he wants to play too,. It’s always gone well for me; I’ve never had a problem with another player. Each goalkeeper wants to play and gives it their all on the training pitch; if you’re on the bench you have to train harder – that’s how it works.
Growing up, you start watching ‘keepers and having idols. It was incredible for me to watch him play,. I remember the first game I played against him: it was special asking for his shirt because I was only 19. Life can be odd sometimes because 12 or 13 years ago I was playing for Genk’s second team, and I could never imagine that someone like Casillas would be a friend, or that it’d just be normal to be alongside the likes of Karim Benzema, Marcelo or Sergio Ramos in the changing room. Even at Chelsea with John Terry, Didier Drogba... They’ve become friends and colleagues afterwards, which is nice.
I’d say a goalkeeper’s best years are between 28 and 33. I think your best years are when your body is still perfect and you’re a bit experienced. So I think that in the past two or three years I’ve played to a very high standard. It’s nice to be recognised by great players. I don’t like saying that I’m the best, because that’s up to the experts and the analysts. It depends: some people will prefer me, some people will prefer another goalkeeper and some people will say that I’m one of the worst. It’s always open for debate but it’s nice to be part of such a select group.
I’m happy to be going back with fans there this time after having played in an empty stadium last year. I spent four years at Chelsea, where I won an FA Cup, a League Cup and two Premier League titles. It’s a club I love, to which I owe a lot. It’s the club that signed me from Genk, sent me on loan to Atlético and gave me the choice to go there and gain experience. It remains a special club for me. I’m happy when they win titles; I know a lot of players there. I was sad when we lost there last year, but I was happy that the club went on to win the Champions League. I hope that it will be a happy return. Of course we’re rivals – they want to win and I want to win – so I’m not asking for any applause; I hope I’m not going to get booed but you never know. I hope it will be OK, as those fans remain special to me.
What I struggle with is the way the media turned on me, spending the whole season claiming I wanted to leave. Because it happened at the last minute, as the transfer window was about to shut, it caused a few problems, so I can understand why the fans were angry at me. However, they have a very good ‘keeper now in Édouard Mendy, and I’m very happy at Madrid.
When I come here to the training centre and see the Real Madrid badge, it’s sometimes a case of thinking, “Pinch me, it’s true then. It’s not a dream, is it?” And when you get to play in games like the one against Paris, where the atmosphere in the stadium is so heated, it’s even more fantastic. Obviously the first few weeks and months were incredible. It got even better when I won my first trophy. I’ll keep on trying to chase my dreams, including winning the Champions League. The journey is still on. I don’t think even in my dreams that I could have imagined that I would one day play for Real Madrid.
As goalkeepers, we know that’s the way it is. We’re a small group within a big squad of players. We train together, so it’s important that we get on with one another. Competition for places is very important. I experienced it at Atlético Madrid, at Genk at the start of my career, at Chelsea with Petr Čech, a legendary keeper. Competition for places is never going to go away, especially when you’re at a big club. When you arrive as a new player and you’re competing with a ‘keeper who’s already won plenty of trophies, it’s always going to be difficult because he wants to play too,. It’s always gone well for me; I’ve never had a problem with another player. Each goalkeeper wants to play and gives it their all on the training pitch; if you’re on the bench you have to train harder – that’s how it works.
Growing up, you start watching ‘keepers and having idols. It was incredible for me to watch him play,. I remember the first game I played against him: it was special asking for his shirt because I was only 19. Life can be odd sometimes because 12 or 13 years ago I was playing for Genk’s second team, and I could never imagine that someone like Casillas would be a friend, or that it’d just be normal to be alongside the likes of Karim Benzema, Marcelo or Sergio Ramos in the changing room. Even at Chelsea with John Terry, Didier Drogba... They’ve become friends and colleagues afterwards, which is nice.
I’d say a goalkeeper’s best years are between 28 and 33. I think your best years are when your body is still perfect and you’re a bit experienced. So I think that in the past two or three years I’ve played to a very high standard. It’s nice to be recognised by great players. I don’t like saying that I’m the best, because that’s up to the experts and the analysts. It depends: some people will prefer me, some people will prefer another goalkeeper and some people will say that I’m one of the worst. It’s always open for debate but it’s nice to be part of such a select group.
I’m happy to be going back with fans there this time after having played in an empty stadium last year. I spent four years at Chelsea, where I won an FA Cup, a League Cup and two Premier League titles. It’s a club I love, to which I owe a lot. It’s the club that signed me from Genk, sent me on loan to Atlético and gave me the choice to go there and gain experience. It remains a special club for me. I’m happy when they win titles; I know a lot of players there. I was sad when we lost there last year, but I was happy that the club went on to win the Champions League. I hope that it will be a happy return. Of course we’re rivals – they want to win and I want to win – so I’m not asking for any applause; I hope I’m not going to get booed but you never know. I hope it will be OK, as those fans remain special to me.
What I struggle with is the way the media turned on me, spending the whole season claiming I wanted to leave. Because it happened at the last minute, as the transfer window was about to shut, it caused a few problems, so I can understand why the fans were angry at me. However, they have a very good ‘keeper now in Édouard Mendy, and I’m very happy at Madrid.
When I come here to the training centre and see the Real Madrid badge, it’s sometimes a case of thinking, “Pinch me, it’s true then. It’s not a dream, is it?” And when you get to play in games like the one against Paris, where the atmosphere in the stadium is so heated, it’s even more fantastic. Obviously the first few weeks and months were incredible. It got even better when I won my first trophy. I’ll keep on trying to chase my dreams, including winning the Champions League. The journey is still on. I don’t think even in my dreams that I could have imagined that I would one day play for Real Madrid.
As goalkeepers, we know that’s the way it is. We’re a small group within a big squad of players. We train together, so it’s important that we get on with one another. Competition for places is very important. I experienced it at Atlético Madrid, at Genk at the start of my career, at Chelsea with Petr Čech, a legendary keeper. Competition for places is never going to go away, especially when you’re at a big club. When you arrive as a new player and you’re competing with a ‘keeper who’s already won plenty of trophies, it’s always going to be difficult because he wants to play too,. It’s always gone well for me; I’ve never had a problem with another player. Each goalkeeper wants to play and gives it their all on the training pitch; if you’re on the bench you have to train harder – that’s how it works.
Growing up, you start watching ‘keepers and having idols. It was incredible for me to watch him play,. I remember the first game I played against him: it was special asking for his shirt because I was only 19. Life can be odd sometimes because 12 or 13 years ago I was playing for Genk’s second team, and I could never imagine that someone like Casillas would be a friend, or that it’d just be normal to be alongside the likes of Karim Benzema, Marcelo or Sergio Ramos in the changing room. Even at Chelsea with John Terry, Didier Drogba... They’ve become friends and colleagues afterwards, which is nice.
I’d say a goalkeeper’s best years are between 28 and 33. I think your best years are when your body is still perfect and you’re a bit experienced. So I think that in the past two or three years I’ve played to a very high standard. It’s nice to be recognised by great players. I don’t like saying that I’m the best, because that’s up to the experts and the analysts. It depends: some people will prefer me, some people will prefer another goalkeeper and some people will say that I’m one of the worst. It’s always open for debate but it’s nice to be part of such a select group.
