Thibaut Courtois became embroiled in yet another public international spat this time last year with former Everton star Romelu Lukaku, but it is not the first of his Belgium career
If any footballer is granted the honour of captaining their country, it is arguably one of the proudest days in their careers.
As a result, Tedesco would hand the armband to Lukaku, with the striker scoring three goals across a 1-1 draw with Austria and 3-0 win over Estonia during Euro 2024 qualification. Yet according to the Belgium manager, such a decision upset goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, with the Real Madrid shot-stopper.
“For me it would be easy, believe me, I would like to tell you that it is a topic of injury. But then I would lie to you, I would lie to the team and to the staff, and I can’t do this. I always try to protect players but that's impossible in this situation. I tried to tell him to hold on for two more days.
However, Courtois would take issue with such claims as he shared his own version of events, insisting he was injured and revealing he had spoken to Lukaku, on social media. “I insist that in no case have I demanded anything and that I have spoken to my team-mate Romelu Lukaku to clarify any circumstances related to this situation. At the same time I want to make it clear that I did not have any discussion on any similar subject with any teammate, as has been claimed.
“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. “I'm sorry to hear all the rumours that are spread by people that just waited for the opportunity to put you down or hurt your name. Those people don't understand that you are the definition of high quality football.
"Some days we need to make tough decisions and today is one of them,” Mignolet wrote on Twitter. "After 13 years of representing my country, it's time for me to say goodbye to the Belgian Red Devils. In his 2014 autobiography, De Bruyne would reveal the pair have a professional relationship, but how former Belgium manager Marc Wilmots, a man Courtois has also fallen out with in the past and took legal action against in 2018 after being accused of leaking team information, had asked the Man City star if he wanted him to drop the goalkeeper.
“Simon can say what he wants, but it won’t make any difference, he said in February 2014. “I think I have won points for Belgium , and I play at a high level with Atletico. You have to know how to stay humble and respectful, and he should remember that.
Everton FC Romelu Lukaku Simon Mignolet
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