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At 34, Thibaut Courtois is preparing for his ninth season as a Real Madrid player and has set himself a fresh goal: to win his fourth Zamora Trophy, a feat that would place him in an elite group of goalkeepers.

According to AS, the Real Madrid shot-stopper is determined to finish once again as La Liga’s least-beaten goalkeeper, something he has not managed since the 2019-20 season.

If he achieves that objective, Courtois would become only the sixth goalkeeper in La Liga history to win the award four or more times.

He would move alongside Juan Acuna and Santiago Canizares, who both won it four times, while Antoni Ramallets and Victor Valdes claimed it five times each. Jan Oblak remains the record-holder with six.

Interestingly, Courtois has won the Zamora Trophy more times with Atletico Madrid, where he claimed it twice, than with Real Madrid, where he has won it once, despite spending only three seasons with the Rojiblancos compared to eight at the Santiago Bernabeu.

His only Zamora Trophy at the Santiago Bernabeu came in 2019-20, when he let in just 20 goals in 34 league appearances and played a key role in helping Real Madrid win the title.

Since then, injuries and inconsistency in defence have stopped him from taking back the award.

Stronger support in defence

The number of goals a team concedes does not depend only on the goalkeeper. The defence is equally important, and Real Madrid have clearly acknowledged that.

The club placed major emphasis on reinforcing the backline this summer, with three of their six new signings being defenders.

The arrivals of Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konate and Denzel Dumfries strengthen a defence that has faced repeated problems in recent seasons.

Serious injuries have often forced Real Madrid to improvise at the back, but the squad now appears to have greater depth as well as improved quality in defence.

That should help manager Jose Mourinho establish one of the defining hallmarks of his teams: a compact defence capable of conceding very few goals.

All of this could work in Courtois’ favour. He remains one of Mourinho’s untouchables and will now look to wrest the Zamora Trophy away from Joan Garcia. The Barcelona goalkeeper won the award in his first season at Spotify Camp Nou.

Now, after recovering from the injury he suffered at the World Cup, Courtois wants to stop Joan Garcia from repeating that achievement and once again prove that he is the best goalkeeper in La Liga.