Following his elimination from Euro 2024, the Manchester City player labelled the journalist “stupid.” The journalist didn’t hold back.
Ben McCrum
Ben McCrum
After getting upset by the reporter’s inquiry during the post-match press conference on Belgium’s withdrawal from Euro 2024, Tancredi Palmeri responded to Kevin de Bruyne’s’stupid’ comment.
Tuesday night’s matches in the first knockout stage of the 2024 European Championships round of 16 will see The Netherlands take on Romania and Austria play Turkey.
The matches on Monday may have been the most dramatic of the tournament thus far. France defeated Belgium with a last-minute winner in the 85th minute, while Slovenia lost to Portugal in a penalty shootout, 3-0.
When questioned about his nation’s recent lack of success, Belgian captain Kevin De Bruyne found it difficult to contain his annoyance during the post-match news conference. He dubbed SportItalia journalist Tancredi Palmeri stupid.
Palmeri has finally spoken out on De Bruyne’s remark, criticising the Manchester City player for his unprofessional demeanour during the news conference.
Palmeri commented on X, “Ahah, DeBruyne just called me stupid.” Kevin, I have a brief message for you.
“The countries you mentioned—France, England, Germany, and Spain—all made it to the finals!
“Typical football player who is only interested in being told how good they are.”
“A spoiled brat.”
Palmeri asked De Bruyne directly during the news conference, “Why doesn’t Belgium’s golden generation win any trophies?”
The midfield player answered, obviously offended by the question: “Do you think that France, England, Spain, and Germany do not have a golden generation?”
Then, according to a social media video, De Bruyne stormed off, calling the Italian “stupid” in the process.
Players like Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois, and Kevin de Bruyne are members of Belgium’s “golden generation.” (Photo courtesy of Getty)
Over the past ten years, there has been talk of Belgium’s “golden generation,” which includes elite players like Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard, and Romelu Lukaku.
In spite of this, Belgium’s greatest performance at a major tournament in the previous ten years came at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where they won the third-place play-off against England 2-0.
And given that the majority of the players are either retired or nearing the end of their careers, Euro 2024 might have been their last chance to win a significant title as a team.
