Thibaut Courtois has been included in this week’s France Football, which saw the prestigious Gallic publication voting on the world’s top stoppers.
Courtois ended up third in the ranking, some way behind Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon.
Even more surprisingly, David de Gea came in seventh, enraging Man United fans worldwide.
The same publication runs the Ballon d’Or, whose results will be revealed tomorrow. Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to retain the award, with Eden Hazard likely to tally the most votes for the Blues.
France football poll for best goalkeeper, @D_DeGea 7th?!? Your having a laugh pic.twitter.com/GaPCJ4PPmE
— Jordan Williams (@jordyswilliams) December 6, 2017
Courtois is having another strong season, and looks comfortable as ever behind a solid defence. At International level he goes into his second World Cup as a first choice this summer, and will hope to grow his legacy there too. Buffon is retiring and Neuer has suffered a serious injury, so this could be the year that sees the Belgian rise to the top of the rankings at last.