Thibaut Courtois slammed by Belgium teammate over captaincy dispute
Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco accused Thibaut Courtois of leaving camp because he was not named captain; Courtois denied such claims but teammate Yannick Carrasco has sided with his manager.
By Tom Gott
Belgium winger Yannick Carrasco has admitted the team are 'disappointed' with Thibaut Courtois' decision to leave camp over a captaincy row.
Courtois left the team early, before their final Euro 2024 qualifier against Estonia on Tuesday, and manager Domenico Tedesco later claimed the Real Madrid goalkeeper had walked away in frustration after not being named captain.
Those claims were later rejected by Courtois, who pointed to an injury concern as his reason for leaving, but Carrasco has now revealed 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.
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"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 refused to discuss whether Courtois still has a future with the team and will instead wait until naming his squad for September's internationals before making a formal decision.
The Real Madrid goalkeeper, who turned 31 in May, has managed 102 appearances for his country and remains one of the best stoppers in the world, having kept 17 clean sheets in all competitions at club level last season.
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