Thibaut Courtois insists he knew the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening "wouldn't be friendly" and has opened up on his Chelsea exit.
Real Madrid beat the Blues 3-1 in west London thanks to a hat-trick from talisman Karim Benzema. The result leaves Thomas Tuchel's side - who are the defending champions after beating Manchester City in last season's final - on the brink of a Champions League exit.
Courtois started the first leg of the quarter-final clash, the first time he's played in front of Chelsea fans since leaving Stamford Bridge for the Bernabeu in August 2018. The Belgian goalkeeper, 29, played against the Blues last year but fans were not in attendance.
"Obviously I knew it wouldn’t be friendly, especially in the stadium," Courtois told BT Sport when asked about the boos. "Maybe if you see some people outside the ground they will be more friendly. It’s obviously part of football, that’s unfortunate because how they painted my departure was not how it went through.
"But I’m happy with the result and I will always care about the special moments here at the Bridge, two leagues… it’s not easy to win two Premier Leagues in four years, so I’m happy for that and the moments here, so what happened today I don’t take it too much."
Courtois signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2011 but spent his first three years of his contract on loan at Atletico Madrid, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey, Europa League and UEFA Super Cup - defeating the Blues in the final of the latter competition.
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He was made first-choice goalkeeper ahead of club legend Petr Cech when he eventually started his Chelsea career in 2014, playing more than 150 games over the next four seasons and winning four major trophies - including the Premier League twice.
Courtois' exit from Chelsea was messy, revealing his desire to leave the club and failing to turn up to training. It's believed he wanted to be closer to his family after conceiving two kids with his ex-girlfriend Marta Dominguez, a Spaniard who lives in Madrid.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday's game, Courtois hoped he'd receive a good reception at Stamford Bridge. "I hope that they don’t boo me, but you never know," he said.
"I hope it’s a happy return to Stamford Bridge. We’re now rivals. They’ll want to win and the same goes for me. So I’m not expecting any applause from the fans."
Benzema completed his hat-trick on Wednesday evening after a mistake by Courtois' opposite number and successor, Edouard Mendy. On the error, the Belgian said: "Yeah, that’s unfortunate. There are things that happen unfortunately in football for us goalkeepers, you miss a pass there’s no one behind you who can save it.
"He gave Chelsea a lot of points last year, he helped them to win the Champions League, so I don’t think they will blame him too much. But I understand for him it will be a hard evening but he will bounce back."
