In an revealing interview with Sporza, Real Madrid goalkeeper did not hold back in his criticism of Red Devils head coach Domenico Tedesco. The two had a falling out after Belgium’s European qualifier against Austria back in October, with the story being that Courtois left the camp after not being made captain. However, the goalkeeper denies that this was the reason for him leaving the team.
The experienced goalkeeper said that there was more nuance to the story, which was more around respect. Courtois said that he feels he is respected more in Madrid than he is within the national set up. When it was announced that Romelu Lukaku was to be captain against Austria instead of Courtois, who would be captain in the following game against Estonia, the Real Madrid shot-stopper in essence said that was the final straw for him. During the interview Courtois said ‘The fact that I no longer felt appreciation from the federation and trainer made something explode within me’.
He goes on to say more about his opinion on Tedesco, saying that he gave the goalkeeper seven different versions of the story as to why Lukaku had been made captain over him. Furthermore, Courtois revealed that ‘To save the situation, I talked to Vercauteren until half past four that night in Tubize. About the national team, the things at my club, the system, everything. But Tedesco left after 15 to 20 minutes – he had enough of talking to me‘. Courtois admitted that he made a mistake by leaving the camp, but went on to say that Tedesco did not do enough in his eyes to help rectify the situation and made an example of him instead.
Courtois went on to blame Tedesco for leaks that made there way into the press the following day, as it appears that a complete breakdown in the relationship has occurred since the incident. Either way, Tedesco will have to plan for the European championships without the Real Madrid man. During the interview he revealed that he was not going to be eligible to play in Germany next summer as he did not feel that he would be fit enough.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
