“He is the Maradona, the Messi and the Cristiano Ronaldo of the goal” - Santiago Canizares makes emphatic claim about Real Madrid star

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been lauded as the best shot-stopper in football and likened to Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo by Santiago Canizares. Santiago Canizares made the emphatic claim after the Belgian shot-stopper was named Man of the Match in his side's 3-1 win over VfB Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League.

Courtois came up big for Los Blancos as they kicked off their European title defense with a win at the Santiago Bernabeu. The 32-year-old made six big saves in the hard-fought victory over the Bundesliga outfit.

Following another standout performance by the Belgian, former Real Madrid goalkeeper Santiago Canizares compared Courtois to football greats Maradona, Messi, and Ronaldo. Canizares said (as reported by GOAL):

"Courtois is the best of all. There was a time when we said: 'There's Messi and there are the others, or there's [Diego] Maradona'... well, this is similar. Courtois is the Maradona, the Messi, the Cristiano of the goal."

Canizares added:

"He's much better than the rest and he's there every day. We have become accustomed to important saves from balls that go into the corner, balls that go down to the ground quickly, which with another goalkeeper we would highlight, we have become accustomed to seeing this as normal."

The Spaniard concluded by calling Courtois the best goalkeeper he has seen to play the game:

"That is the greatness of, for me, the best goalkeeper I have ever seen play football. A Thibaut Courtois who is once again the MVP of the match and where for Real Madrid really made the difference, especially in goal. Without a doubt (Courtois is the best in history)."

Thibaut Courtois has been arguably one of the best goalkeepers in football for the past couple of years and has proved his mettle manning the posts for Real Madrid.

La Liga goalkeeper names Real Madrid star as the best in the world

Santiago Canizares is not the only one who has showered praise on Thibaut Courtois. Fellow La Liga goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who plies his trade for Espanyol, has named Los Blancos' shot-stopper as the best in their position.

Garcia made this claim while speaking ahead of his side's La Liga clash with Real Madrid on Saturday, September 21. When asked if Courtois is the best goalkeeper in the world, the Spaniard said (via Madrid Universal):

"For me, yes, personally yes. That’s why he’s been at the level he is for so many years, even after his injury. He is a very good goalkeeper, but he is also a human being and we will try to score goals against him."

In five league games played thus far, Courtois has kept three clean sheets and conceded only twice.