Having experienced successful but reportedly difficult stints under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte at Chelsea, Thibaut Courtois is said to be dreading the possibility of either coach taking charge at Real Madrid.
As per the Daily Star, Mourinho has emerged as a shock candidate to replace Julen Lopetegui, while Corriere dello Sport add that Conte could take charge at the Bernabeu.
It comes as Lopetegui continues to struggle to meet expectations as prior to the win over Plzen in the Champions League in midweek, the Spanish giants had lost four of five games while scoring just one goal in that run.
With that in mind, the pressure is most certainly on the Spanish tactician to turn things around and get his side back on track. However, it doesn’t get much more difficult than a trip to the Nou Camp this weekend to face Barcelona in El Clasico.
Should he suffer another damaging defeat, it remains to be seen whether or not that could be the last strike for Lopetegui with either Conte or Mourinho ready to step in.
Based on his touted comments below, it appears as though Courtois will be devastated if either of his former coaches takes charge.
“I can not believe it!” he is quoted as being heard to say amongst his teammates in the dressing room, as per El Pais. “Here I am the only one who has worked with Conte and with Mourinho. I left London to not have to go through something like that again and now it turns out that Conte comes, and if not, Mourinho.”
Courtois did win Premier League titles with both managers, but ultimately both left Stamford Bridge after reported issues in the dressing room among key senior players.
With that in mind, it’s likely to be far from ideal for him to see either man arrive at the Bernabeu having started a fresh challenge away from the Premier League, but it’s unclear at this stage as to how accurate the report is.