Saudi Arabian club preparing mega contract offer for Real Madrid star as they step up transfer interest: Reports

Saudi Arabian giants Al-Ahli are reportedly preparing a massive contract offer to sign Real Madrid goalkeeper and legend Thibaut Courtois. As per reports, the offer is expected to be very difficult to refuse.

The Belgian shot-stopper has been courted regularly by the Middle Eastern country since they began their recruitment drive for European players. In 2023, an unnamed club in Saudi Arabia were highly interested in signing Courtois, according to journalist Jose Felix Diaz (via Madrid Universal).

There were also reports of a Saudi club reaching out to Real Madrid with the intent of making a €70 million bid. However, a move did not pan out for Courtois, who stayed at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Middle Eastern kingdom are still interested in the 32-year-old, though. According to a new report from Spanish outlet SPORT (via Madrid Universal), Al-Ahli will send highly attractive offer to Courtois, as they look to sign him from Madrid. Los Blancos are said to value him, and they do not particularly consider him for sale.

It is worth noting that the Belgian goalkeeper has struggled with injury recently, with a cruciate ligament tear keeping him out of contention through much of last season. This season, he has already missed three games across La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, due to an adductor injury.

This might give Real Madrid a potential reason to sell Courtois and keep their second-choice goalkeeper Andriy Lunin as the first-choice option moving forward. They may opt to accept the mega-offer from Saudi Arabia if the injury problems continue to affect their Belgian shot-stopper.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti discusses heavy loss to Barcelona

Meanwhile, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has discussed Los Blancos' loss to Barcelona in front of their fans at the Santiago Bernabeu. Courtois was notably absent from the game, due to injury, with Lunin taking the reins between the sticks, but the Ukrainian goalkeeper conceded four.

Barcelona handed Madrid a 4-0 beating in their La Liga clash on October 26, with Robert Lewandowski scoring a brace. Speaking afterwards, Ancelotti said to the press (via 90min):

"The result doesn't reflect what happened. They deserved to win but it was a close game until the first goal. We have to learn from this. Self-criticism is fundamental. But we don't throw everything in the bin - our first half was good.

"The last time we lost 4-0 at home to Barcelona we won La Liga and the Champions League. We won't stop fighting."

Real Madrid's upcoming La Liga game against Valencia has been postponed due to flooding, which has affected parts of Spain seriously. Their next match will be on November 5, when they invite Milan to the Santiago Bernabeu for their Champions League clash. Ancelotti will hope to bounce back from their poor performance against Barcelona with a win.