Kepa Arrizabalaga, a goalie for Spain, has been loaned to Real Madrid from Chelsea for a season.
Thibaut Courtois, Madrid’s normal number one goalie, will miss most of the season because of an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament. The 28-year-old will fill in for him.
Since joining Chelsea from Athletic Bilbao for £71 million in August 2018, Kepa has played in 163 games for the club. This is the most money that has ever been paid for a goalie.
Robert Sanchez, who joined the Blues in the summer, gave him trouble there.
Sanchez, who came from Brighton for £25 million, started Sunday’s Premier League game against Liverpool.
Edouard Mendy, a goalie from Senegal who played for Chelsea, was sold to the Saudi Pro League team Al-Ahli earlier this summer.
Kepa’s departure means that Marcus Bettinelli, who is 31, is the only other senior goalie on their team. The other two are Lucas Bergstrom, who is 20, and Eddie Beach, who is 19.
Real Madrid started the season with a 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. One of the goals was scored by England player Jude Bellingham, who joined the team in the summer for £88.5 million from Borussia Dortmund.
