Thibaut Courtois Nemanja Matic N'Golo Kante Jose Mourinho Antonio Conte Chelsea Manchester United Premier League AS Roma Champions League

Courtois: Chelsea couldn't stop Nemanja Matic from leaving

  • 11 January 2018

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has insisted that the Blues had no other choice than to sell Nemanja Matic during last summer's transfer window. The Serbia international was an influential player for the Blues during their Premier League triumph last term.

Matic's future had made up his mind to join Manchester United early in the summer, and Courtois feels there is noting the Blues could have done to keep him at the club, he told the Independent, "That’s not my decision to make. Those are questions you need to ask to the people who made that happen. If a player nowadays wants to go to a team, then he has – I don’t want to say the power – but if he has a strong will to leave and join another team then it is hard for the club. You cannot just ignore him and say ‘you cannot leave’ because then you have a disappointed player who won’t play at his best."