Thibaut Courtois does not believe he is given enough recognition for his performances at Real Madrid in comparison to his time at Atletico Madrid.
After a difficult start to his Madrid career upon joining from Chelsea in 2018, Courtois has been one of Los Blancos' most consistent performers over the past two seasons.
He has kept 11 clean sheets in LaLiga this term – only Atletico's Jan Oblak has more with 12 – while no keeper has more shutouts (29) in the competition since the start of 2019-20, level with Oblak.
Courtois has been regularly praised by boss Zinedine Zidane for his game-saving heroics, but the 28-year-old does not believe his achievements are fully appreciated by everyone, particularly in his homeland.
The Belgium international, who spent three seasons with Atletico before joining Chelsea and then Madrid, told HLN: "I had three fantastic years at Atletico. I received praise from all over Belgium. I became Sportsman of the Year and I thought it was good.
"Today I have the feeling that everything I do has become normal. My performance in that game against Real Valladolid, I think, seemed like it didn't exist.
"It seems that continuing to play at a high level at the biggest club in the world is no longer worth the effort."
Courtois initially struggled to hold down a place in Madrid's starting line-up amid repeated criticism in his debut campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu.
But he helped Los Blancos to the LaLiga title last season and produced a number of fine saves in his side's penalty shoot-out win against Atletico in the Supercopa de Espana final.
However, Courtois was pipped to HNL's prestigious 'Best Belgian Player Abroad' award in 2019-20 by Inter striker Romelu Lukaku – a decision he admits was difficult to accept.
"When you see where I've come from at Real Madrid... I survived a tsunami there," said Courtois, who is expected to start for Madrid against former side Atleti on Sunday.
"In 2020 I won the Supercopa with a decisive save in the shoot-out. And then I read from analysts: 'Courtois deserves the Belgian of the Year trophy less than Lukaku, because he was always with the national team while Courtois withdrew a few times'.
"I can understand that Lukaku was given the award for Best Belgian Abroad, but I also deserved it. I was also not nominated for Athlete of the Year.
"It's ridiculous. In fact, I feel more appreciation in Spain, and also outside of Spain, than in Belgium."
Arteta hails 'phenomenal' Arsenal drive to take Man City all the way
Mikel Arteta hailed the "phenomenal" drive shown by his Arsenal side to push Manchester City all the way in the Premier League title race.
The Gunners moved one point clear of City at the Premier League summit on Sunday with a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
City have a chance to restore their advantage when they travel to Arsenal's fierce rivals Tottenham on Tuesday, before then hosting West Ham.
Regardless of what happens in midweek, Arsenal will go into their final game of the campaign at home to Everton with the title battle still alive.
Speaking to BBC Sport after his side's latest win, Arteta said: "It is a phenomenal thing they are doing."
However, Arteta was not entirely pleased with the manner of his side's slender victory, even if they were good value for the win overall.
"We weren't composed, clean enough, consistent enough and were unable to do the simple things right," he said. "That doesn't give you control.
"Some of the players have not been in this position; they don't know what is at stake and how you feel emotionally to have to win and win and win from December or January."
Arsenal's win was just their second in 17 Premier League trips to Old Trafford, most recently coming out on top in November 2020.
Lenadro Trossard scored what proved to be the winner with 20 minutes played, tapping in from close range after being set up by Kai Havertz.
"We needed a result today in a really difficult place," Arteta added. "Our history was not in favour of a result today.
"There was so much at stake and we're happy with the result. We started the game really well and were dominant.
"We scored the goal and I think the goal led to slightly bad things because we started to play too safe, too sideways, too backwards with not enough structure.
"We started to give the ball away in good areas and that is a danger against them. But we defended well and didn't concede too much."
Arsenal now find themselves cheering on Tottenham against City, knowing that anything other than a win for Pep Guardiola's men will leave their title fate in their own hands.
Asked if he will be watching that game, Arteta said: "We will be sat watching and it’s true we need the result in order to achieve [the title]. In football there are always possibilities."
Tuchel skips goodbye from fans after final Bayern home game
Departing Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel opted on Sunday to quietly slip into the changing rooms instead of joining his players to celebrate after the Bavarians beat Wolfsburg 2-0.
Tuchel will be leaving at the end of the season – a year earlier than his contract ends – following a disappointing campaign with no silverware.
The win came four days after Bayern's Champions League semi-final exit to Real Madrid confirmed their first season without a trophy in over a decade.
"These are the moments for the players," he said when asked why he did not join his squad who went in front of the Bayern ultras after their final home game of the season.
"I don't want to be in the spotlight there. That's for the team. I know that the cameras are there.
"I prefer to go in [to the changing rooms]. It is about the team. The fans are there for the team. They need to be celebrated."
There has been little to celebrate for Tuchel in his 14 months in charge, with Bayern having managed to win only the Bundesliga title last season after Borussia Dortmund slipped up on the final matchday.
He said he did not yet know what he would take away from his time at Bayern, who missed out on Bundesliga glory to Bayer Leverkusen this term.
"Last home game and what remains I don't really know," he said. "It will take some time to see what is left.
"It is a privilege to coach at this level. I came to win as many titles as possible. We did not succeed in that."
Juventus 1-1 Salernitana: Late Rabiot goal salvages home draw
Juventus snatched a 1-1 draw at home to relegated Salernitana courtesy of a late Adrien Rabiot goal that cancelled out a first-half header from Niccolo Pierozzi in Serie A on Sunday.
Juve are fourth on 67 points with two matches left, six points ahead of Atalanta, who have two games in hand.
Salernitana shocked the Allianz Stadium as unmarked Pierozzi headed home after 27 minutes following a corner.
But Juventus dominated the rest of the match and equalised in stoppage time when Rabiot slid the ball home at the back post after a corner was flicked on.
Bottom side Salernitana were doomed to the drop last month.
Juve play in the Italian Cup final against Atalanta on Wednesday in an effort to save a disappointing season and stop their winless streak at six matches in all competitions.
Data Debrief: Another stalemate for Juve
Juventus were grateful for a point come full-time, albeit it was a poor result in the grand scheme of things. Juve have now draw five successive matches in Serie A for the first time since between April and May 2009.
In fact, only Heidenheim of the Bundesliga (10) have drawn more matches than Juventus have (nine from 18 games) across Europe's top five leagues in 2024.
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