Courtois agrees in principle to extend Real Madrid stay until 2028

Real Madrid have reached a verbal agreement in principle with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on a one-year contract extension that would keep him at the club until 2028, according to Fabrizio Romano and MARCA. The 34-year-old Belgian’s existing deal runs through 2027, and the new terms are expected to be formally signed soon, though no signing date has been confirmed.

Courtois joined Real Madrid from Chelsea in 2018 for €35 million and has since become one of the defining figures of the club’s recent era, contributing to two Champions League titles and three La Liga championships. His current contract was itself the product of a previous one-year renewal, and the reported extension follows the same pattern Madrid typically apply to players over 30 — rolling agreements that preserve continuity without committing to a longer-term arrangement.

The deal remains an agreement in principle rather than a completed signing. No financial terms have been disclosed, and the reported end year of 2028 has not been tied to a specific expiry date. Romano’s reporting, corroborated by MARCA, describes the understanding as verbal, with formal paperwork still to follow.

Courtois would be 36 when the reported deal expires, meaning Madrid would need to revisit his situation once more before the end of the decade. His backup, Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, has been linked with a move away from the club, though no departure has been confirmed. The extension does not, by itself, resolve Lunin’s future.

Until the contract is formally signed, Courtois’s status at the Bernabéu beyond 2027 remains agreed in principle — a significant step, but not yet the final one.