Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois has beaten team-mate Eden Hazard to become the first footballer named Belgian Sportsman of the Year.
Both Courtois and Hazard starred as Belgium reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, but Thibaut’s successes haven’t been limited to the Belgium national team. On the contrary, Courtious has made 18 appearances after replacing Petr Cech as Jose Mourinho’s No.1 keeper.
Hazard came fifth in the voting, while former Blue Kevin De Bruyne was eighth.
Courtois said: “It’s an honour to be the first footballer to win this award. But you have to have some luck too. If there’d been a cyclist who had won two classical races, I think I wouldn’t have won the trophy.
“But I’m happy, I’m proud. Even more for my family, it’s not always easy for them – I’m often away from home, disappointed after a loss or a difficult training session.
“I want to thank them, and all of my team-mates, managers and staff who helped me to achieve this. You never get used to winning prizes, but this season I want to achieve as much as possible with Chelsea. In the first place I want to win the Premier League.”
