A former teammate of Thibaut Courtois’s from Belgium, who had retired from international duty after learning of the goalkeeper’s imminent return to the national team setup, has been called out by Courtois.
The 31-year-old player is expected to play for Belgium in their Nations League double-header against Ukraine this week. This comes just seven months after he left the national team due to a disagreement with his former manager, Domenico Tedesco.
On June 17, 2024, Courtois made his final appearance for Belgium, which was a qualifying match for the European Championship against Austria.
Tedesco claimed that he refused to travel because he was “offended” at being overlooked for the captaincy against Austria. Two days later, the Real Madrid custodian was not included in their match against Estonia. Tedesco was the one who made the claim.
Courtois issued a statement shortly after the incident occurred because he was not selected for Tedesco’s 25-man squad for Euro 2024. This decision prompted the veteran custodian to publish a statement.
After following the events that transpired with the coach and engaging in a great deal of introspection, he stated, “I have made the decision to not return to the Belgian national team under his management.”
Rudi Garcia, a former manager of Roma, was appointed as the new head coach of Belgium shortly after Tedesco was fired in January, after having been in charge for a period of less than two years.
Courtois was brought back to his squad, which was one of the first significant decisions he made. “He will be back,” Garcia said, “It is wonderful news for Belgium.” the statement was made. From the beginning, I have always thought of Thibaut as the best custodian in the world.
However, after the news became public, custodian Koen Casteels of Wolfsburg made the decision to withdraw from his participation in international competition.
In an interview with the MIDMID podcast, he stated, “It is peculiar that the football association has completely changed its position in order to roll out the red carpet and welcome him back with open arms.” “I find it a little off-putting that Courtois has the ability to decide for himself whether or not he can return.
It’s not so much directed at Thibaut as it is towards the American Football Association. This does not conform to the standards and values that I hold regarding the characteristics that should be present in a team sport. I am sorry to inform you that I am no longer available to participate in the national team.
Courtois was asked about Casteels’ decision to retire from international duty during his pre-match press conference alongside Youri Tielemans. The press conference took place four days before their Nations League match against Ukraine, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday.
“I can understand Koen, because he was number one and now I’m returning,” he stated in response. However, the football association indicated that they wanted me to return from the beginning, so I made myself available once more.
“It’s not like I was the one who planned all of this out. Considering the other things he said, is it possible that there is even more discontentment? I have no idea. I believe that if you are going to say something, you ought to also name it.
In addition, he stated, “I am only able to perform exceptionally well on the pitch.” My sincere apologies go out to the fans for the way things transpired, but the fact that inaccurate or insufficient information was disseminated did not help matters.
In addition, Tielemans offered his viewpoint on the matter. When we were in this predicament, we most certainly did not require that bomb from Koen. There was a discussion about it, of course, but the most important thing is that Thibaut was able to explain everything and tell his story,” he said.
“The most important thing is that he realises that certain things went wrong for the group of players, but that he indicated that he didn’t mean it that way.”
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