Unai Simón’s Tribute to Courtois: Best Goalkeeper of the Century
Unai Simón has just been crowned with the Yashin Trophy after a near-perfect 2026. Yet when the Spain and Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper talks about greatness, he points straight at someone else.
Thibaut Courtois.
On Onda Cero, with the glow of his own award still fresh, Simón didn’t lean into self-promotion or badge loyalty. He went the other way, offering a blunt, almost startling verdict on the Real Madrid goalkeeper.
Courtois, he said, is not just the best in the world right now. He is the outstanding goalkeeper of the 21st century.
“He works like an animal”
Simón has long admitted he studies Courtois closely. Technique. Positioning. Presence. The small details that separate very good from truly elite.
He revealed that the Belgian was genuinely moved when he heard about those earlier compliments during the World Cup. Two rivals on opposite sides of Spain’s biggest club divide, quietly sharing professional respect.
“I am glad that he is a very humble goalkeeper who works hard every day,” Simón told Edu Pidal. Then came the line that cut through the usual clichés.
“If every season he puts on an extraordinary performance, it must be because he works like an animal. So, I think he knows that he is the best goalkeeper in the world, and I can even say that for this century, he is the best.”
No diplomatic hedging. No soft landing. Just a direct acknowledgement of a standard he himself is chasing.
No interest in false modesty or tribal answers
The interviewer pushed him. Shouldn’t he be naming a teammate instead? Or at least putting himself forward after a World Cup in which he conceded just one goal in eight matches?
Simón didn’t bite.
“No, I am not going to lie. Come on, as if I am going to say, ‘No, I am the best.’ No, I won’t,” he replied, laughing.
It was a light moment, but it revealed something serious. Simón is not interested in the usual partisan answers that dominate football debate. He prefers honesty over convenience, reality over club colours.
His stance cuts against the grain in a sport where public comments are often filtered through PR logic and dressing-room politics. Here is a Spain No 1, fresh from a World Cup-winning campaign, openly declaring that another man has set the bar higher than anyone else this century.
Learning from the very top
Simón’s praise does not come from a place of deference. It comes from ambition.
At Lezama, Athletic’s training base, he has built his own game on relentless repetition and attention to detail. The numbers from Spain’s 2026 World Cup run underline it: eight matches, just one goal conceded, and a trophy lifted with La Roja playing with authority and control.
Those are the figures of a goalkeeper operating at the very top of his craft. Yet he still talks about Courtois as a reference point, as the model of sustained excellence.
That mindset matters. It explains why a newly crowned Yashin Trophy winner spends his airtime elevating a rival rather than himself. It also explains why his own ceiling may not be reached yet.
Spain’s schedule does not slow down. Neither does the scrutiny. As the national team push on under international duty, Simón walks into every camp with a world champion’s medal, an individual award to his name, and a clear target in his head.
Courtois has defined the standard for a generation. Simón’s words make one thing clear: he intends to live at that level, not just admire it from afar.
