Thibaut Courtois has argued that it's not possible to win the Ballon d'Or as a goalkeeper after finishing seventh this year.
It was a positive night for Real Madrid with Karim Benzema winning the biggest prize and Courtois taking home the Yashin Trophy, awarded to the goalkeeper of the year, but the Belgian was frustrated to see his name come out in seventh in the overall Ballon d'Or rankings.
Courtois, who was among his team's top performers as they won both La Liga and the Champions League last season, claimed that his disappointing finish serves as proof that a goalkeeper will never win the top prize.
"I see it as impossible to win the Ballon d'Or," he said at the ceremony.
"You win La Liga and the Champions League, your team wins, you made great saves., and you only finish seventh. At least they have invented the trophy for best goalkeeper."
He stopped short of saying he should have won it, but insisted he should have at least made the top three.
“I’m not saying I should win it, but I’m not even on the podium being the goalkeeper who has won La Liga and the Champions League," he stated.
"I am very happy for Karim Benzema. It seems that scoring a goal is better than stopping it. A battle that remains to be won.
"Seeing the logic and knowing how they vote, I knew that I would have no chance of winning it.”