Tancredi Palmeri has responded to Kevin de Bruyne calling him 'stupid' after being angered by the journalist's question at the post-match press conference of Belgium's Euro 2024 exit.
The round of 16 of the 2024 European Championships comes to a close on Tuesday night, as The Netherlands face Romania and Austria play Turkey in the final matches of the first knockout stage.
Monday’s fixtures were potentially the most dramatic of the stage so far, as Slovenia lost a penalty shootout 3-0 to Portugal, and France sealed a victory over Belgium with a knockout 85th minute winner.
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Belgian captain Kevin De Bruyne struggled to hide his frustration in the post-match press conference, as he called SportItalia journalist Tancredi Palmeri stupid after being asked a question about his country's recent lack of success.
And Palmeri has finally broken his silence on De Bruyne's comment, lashing out at the Manchester City star for his poor attitude in the press conference.
Speaking on X, Palmeri said: “Ahah DeBruyne just called me stupid. Hey Kevin, little memo for you.
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“The golden generation you mentioned of France, England, Germany and Spain they ALL REACHED A FINAL!
“Usual footballer that wants only question telling him how good they are.
“Spoiled brat.”
In the press conference, Palmeri didn’t hold back as he asked De Bruyne why Belgium’s golden generation never win any trophies.
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Clearly agitated by the question, the midfielder responded: “"Do you think that France, England, Spain and Germany do not have a golden generation?"
De Bruyne then stormed off, and a video on social media has revealed that, as he leaves, he calls the Italian ‘stupid.’
The idea of Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ has been around for the past decade, with world-class players such as Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois all playing together.
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Despite this, the best Belgium have done at a major competition in the last ten years was in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where they defeated England 2-0 in the third place play-off.
And with most of the players either retired or entering the twilight years of his career, it is likely that Euro 2024 may have been the last opportunity for this group of players to win a major trophy together.
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Topics: Euro 2024, Belgium, Kevin De Bruyne, Football, France
Ben McCrum