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Thibaut Courtois has launched a stinging attack on Belgium boss Domenico Tedesco after he snubbed him for the captaincy.
Courtois has been a permanent fixture in the Belgium side and has accrued 102 caps for his country.
But he felt disrespected back in June when manager Domenico Tedesco opted to give Romelu Lukaku the armband for the 1-1 draw with Austria.
He was already slated to be the captain for the clash with Estonia days after but Courtois was offended given it was his 100th cap and told his manager as much.
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"You know, here in Madrid I feel that I get respect from everyone in the club. I don't really experience that with the Devils," he told Sporza.
"That week I was doing some exploring to see what would happen.
"On the Saturday of the match, a few hours before kick-off, Tedesco called Lukaku and me over. When he said that Romelu was captain against Austria and I was captain against Estonia on Tuesday, something snapped inside me.
"It didn't work anymore.
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"The fact that I no longer felt appreciation from the federation and trainer made something explode within me.
"I played that international match against Austria as well as I could, but after the whistle I went to the trainer to say that there was a problem. At the press conference afterwards he said something about appreciation for me, but yes...
"That was just because I had said things to him, of course."
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Courtois did not feature against Estonia, with reports at the time claiming it was because of his reaction to the snub.
Tedesco accused him of faking an injury after he left the national team training camp.
The former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid goalkeeper hasn't featured for his country since June after suffering an ACL injury back in August.
He is not expected to play a part again for Real Madrid this season, and will instead be a supporter at the Euro 2024.
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"Due to the injury, there will be no European Championships for me anyway," Courtois explained.
"I first have to recover the full 100% and then it is better not to put a date on it. If I’m lucky, I can play another match in May. But then you can never be 100% ready for a big tournament.”
Topics: Thibaut Courtois, Real Madrid, Belgium, Romelu Lukaku
Josh Lawless