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Thibaut Courtois slammed by Belgium teammate over captaincy dispute.
Belgium winger Yannick Carrasco has revealed the team are ‘disappointed’ with Thibaut Courtois‘ decision to leave camp over a captaincy row.
Prior to their final Euro 2024 qualifying match against Estonia on Tuesday, Courtois departed the team early. Manager Domenico Tedesco reportedly claimed the Real Madrid goalkeeper quit the team out of irritation after not being selected captain.
Courtois later refuted such reports, citing injury concerns as the cause of his departure, but Carrasco has since disclosed that the players have sided with their manager.
“We’ve more or less understood what happened,” Carrasco told RBTF. “We had a meeting with the coach, who was clear with us.
“We, the older players, haven’t yet had the opportunity to speak with Thibaut. But we were disappointed with his reaction.
“At the end of the day, he’s a key member of the team, one of the three captains. An armband is just a detail. You have to show that you’re a leader and a captain with your own personality. He chose to leave. Whether he was embarrassed or not, we don’t know.
“But one of the reasons he left was also the armband. Now that’s clear.”
Tedesco has declined to comment on whether Courtois still has a future with the side and would postpone making a formal decision until after he names his team for the international games in September.
The Real Madrid goalkeeper, who turned 31 in May, has made 102 appearances for his nation and is still regarded as one of the best goalies in the world after recording 17 shutouts in all-league play last season.