Chelsea have tolerated player power for so long players now expect it as their due. Losing Thibaut Courtois will be a football and financial blow, but it is the least costly alternative in the long run.
Most of us have seen the trash on Jerry Springer plaintively tolerating their partner’s depredations by wailing “S/he’s my soulmate and I luuuuvvs her / him.” Or, if you prefer to go high-brow for your salacious fix, the gold digger who lets their sugar momma / daddy do whatever on the side because, hey, we all know who pays the bills and baby’s gotta eat. Neither end of the scale – not unconditional devotion leading to blanket amnesty nor stark transactionalism – shows the way to the good life. Nor do they offer much of a model for running a football club.
The most recent defences of Thibaut Courtois fall into the latter category. Now that Courtois has revealed his true colours in all their perfidious radiance, “better than Jack Butland” has replaced “world class” among those advocating Chelsea accept one more year of him with days left in the transfer window.
My friend Scott Brant’s much-cited piece from last week argued a version of this. Scott said Courtois can raise Chelsea’s prospects for Champions League qualification well above any plausible replacement. In fact, Courtois could make the difference between Champions League and Europa League (or neither).
The money Chelsea would receive for qualifying for the Champions League would offset the money they will lose by Courtois leaving for free next June. Simply for the balance sheet, keeping Courtois makes sense.
But that was strictly in the context of finances, and before Courtois evaded Maurizio Sarri’s publicly-stated wish for an eye-to-eye conversation about the Belgian’s future. Courtois is now doing to Chelsea precisely what he did for Chelsea: going AWOL to force a move. Strangely, both times – the previous at Genk – involved a pre-season friendly against Lyon. Comparisons to Jack Butland or David de Gea or even Willy Caballero no longer matter. The matter is beyond goalkeeping and how Chelsea can mitigate losing Courtois. Now it is about controlling the damage for every day Courtois stays.
Thibaut Courtois is doing what he expects will work. This specific set of circumstances worked against Genk to get him to Stamford Bridge. He saw how Diego Costa got what he wanted: a move to Atletico. Courtois saw how Willian and David Luiz got what they wanted: a new manager.
The precedents all tilt in Courtois’ favour. He, sadly, has every reason to think he too will be successful and get what he wants.
Chelsea once again must decide if Courtois will be the last player to attempt a player power-play, or simply the most recent to pull one off. If the club go to extraordinary lengths to secure Courtois’ move to Real Madrid, every other player with a bone of discontent at any point in the future will follow the path. They may start a training ground row with a fitness coach, or mess around on social media, not show up to practice or come up with something new of their own. Whatever the case, they will show their dominance, the club will show their submissiveness, lather, rinse, repeat.
If Chelsea are unable to secure Courtois’ desired move and allow him to carry on as the starting goalkeeper, they will be granting amnesty to anything any player could do down the road to disrespect the club, the coach or the staff.
“Why me? You didn’t do anything against Courtois” will be the knee-jerk end-of-conversation defence from every player. The only way the club could respond is by saying “Well, Courtois is a better player and we need him on the pitch more than we need you.” Such a brazen abdication of principle is best quarantined within the National Football League.
And even before those days happen, the club will endure his presence in the locker room. All talk of shared sacrifice and team spirit will ring hollow to everyone who sees him there. When Marcin Bulka is on loan after giving his all in preseason, he will see a man unhappily occupying the post he – Bulka – fought for. The other players who earn their way in to every XI one match at a time will look resentfully at the player who has his spot by default, despite his efforts to be elsewhere.
Chelsea have dallied their way out of any good options. Selling Courtois is their top priority. Even though they should not reward him with a transfer to Real Madrid, they cannot make matters worse by keeping him this season. If they have to take the financial loss, so be it. If they have to give him what he wants, so be it. The time for good business is well past, as is the time for good player management. This is pure damage control.
Chelsea do not have the luxury of trying to replace Courtois with a goalkeeper of similar abilities. They missed out on Allison, and Jan Oblak, Keylor Navas and Kepa Arrizabalaga are distant hopes. Jack Butland is closer in abilities to Marcin Bulka than he is to Courtois. If Butland is the only option, Bulka should be the choice.
Chelsea have a long-standing problem with player power, and Courtois is only doing what those who came before him did to their advantage. Nothing Courtois can do between the sticks can overcome the damage he has and will continue to do to this club. Courtois being better than Butland does not matter. Not Butland nor Caballero could hurt this club more than Courtois. Reversing – or at least stopping – the tide of player power will have a greater benefit for Chelsea FC than Champions League qualification of a £50 million check from Real Madrid.
Chelsea stand to lose a lot however Courtois leaves. They stand to lose even more if he stays. The former loss will be a net gain over time.