Thibaut Courtois has purchased the glove brand he wore as a youngster It's just the latest in a series of investments he's made off the pitch
Thibaut Courtois is not your typical footballer. Alongside being the first-choice goalkeeper for Real Madrid, Courtois is an entrepreneur who has diversified his investments over the years, while keeping most of them within football and sport more broadly. With that in mind, the news that he has acquired a company producing goalkeeper gloves comes as little surprise, especially given his role on the pitch. What makes this story particularly interesting, however, are the details.
Why Courtois acquired REAL Gloves
Courtois has acquired REAL Gloves, a Belgian company that has been active in the goalkeeper glove market for decades. The connection between the brand and Courtois goes back a long way: early in his career, he wore REAL goalkeeper gloves. He used them during his first steps at Genk and later when he joined Atlético Madrid on loan from Chelsea. After returning to London, Courtois switched to Nike, before becoming an ambassador for Elite Sport in recent years.
That was the case until just a few days ago, when the return from the international break brought another surprise, following the news about Gianluigi Donnarumma's boot and glove supplier. Courtois has not only acquired the goalkeeper glove company that supported him at the start of his career, but has also returned to wearing its gloves. The confirmation came during the match against Villarreal, when Courtois wore a pair of white gloves featuring a grey lowercase-style capital R — the logo of REAL.
From NXTPLAY Capital to investments in football clubs
The acquisition was completed by Bruwag, a sports equipment distribution company owned by Courtois and his business partner Simon Wagner. According to Belgian media, the acquisition of REAL Gloves took place in the summer of 2026. As mentioned above, this is just the latest in a series of investments Courtois has made away from the pitch.
His most significant venture is undoubtedly NXTPLAY Capital, the investment platform he founded in 2025 alongside entrepreneur Gonzalo Vila. Through the company, Courtois has acquired stakes in three professional European football clubs: Genk (Belgium), Le Mans (France) and Extremadura (Spain). NXTPLAY Capital has also invested in esports, first in PlayVault and later in Fusion Esports Group, while establishing a partnership with Signify, the Dutch lighting multinational, to improve the fan experience at stadiums, among other things.
Courtois also has interests beyond football. Through NXTPLAY Capital, the Real Madrid goalkeeper is a co-owner of Team Sierra, part of Sierra Racing Club, which competes in the E1 World Championship, the official all-electric powerboat racing series. In 2023, independently of NXTPLAY Capital, he also founded TC Racing, a motorsport team competing primarily in Spain. Finally, in 2019, he became an investor in Artist Amplifier, a Belgian talent representation agency specialising in artists and athletes, with the division overseen by Courtois himself.
