Real Madrid Make Andriy Lunin, Thibaut Courtois Decision

Andriy Lunin is under contract with Real Madrid through June 30, 2030. It was a renewal the club wanted to complete at the time to ensure it had a quality replacement for Thibaut Courtois because, whenever he has been needed, he has delivered at a very high level.

The Belgium goalkeeper has missed 26 official matches over the last two seasons (15 in 2024-25 and 11 in 2025-26).

For that reason, the club is not considering selling the Ukrainian goalkeeper and believes he will play important minutes next season, according to independent outlet Defensa Central.

In addition, Jorge Mendes is his agent, and relations between the club and the Portuguese representative are now good again, so there should be no issues between the two sides. Lunin and his family are very happy in Madrid and have fully settled in, although the goalkeeper naturally wants to play more minutes. Even so, he has accepted being behind Thibaut Courtois, one of the best goalkeepers in history.

That said, when he is healthy, the Belgian goalkeeper is the No. 1 choice, and Jose Mourinho and everyone at the club know it. That is why the priority is to work with the fitness coaches and medical staff so he suffers as few injuries as possible.

Courtois also wants to take action himself, which is why he plans to ask the Belgium national team to leave him out for one year so he can focus on competing with Real Madrid. It is a risky decision because it could affect his chances of being called up for UEFA Euro 2028.

As he is considered by many to be the greatest goalkeeper in history, everyone in Belgium wants to see him called up by the national team. From that perspective, if he asks for a year away to regain his fitness and focus on club competition, they will surely understand. What remains to be seen is whether the Belgian head coach and the federation see it the same way.

Real Madrid is pleased with Courtois' decision and hopes it does not create any problems with Belgium. That way, during international breaks, he would either rest or continue working at Valdebebas to always be at 100 percent for Real Madrid and miss far fewer matches, because some of the games he has missed have been important, and he always wants to be there for the team. Let's see.