Thibaut Courtois has just joined his Belgian teammates to prepare for the away match against Ukraine in the Nations League. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, the Real Madrid goalkeeper told all about the things he thought were misunderstandings in the past 2 years.
Courtois last played for the national team in June 2023. At that time, he suddenly left the Belgian training camp right before the match against Estonia in the EURO 2024 qualifying campaign.
The 32-year-old star said that the reason for that action did not come from the fact that former captain Domenico Tedesco did not give him the captain's armband. Courtois also said that act was sudden and he apologized, hoping for everyone's understanding.
"There were many misunderstandings about the incident that day. Now, I feel relieved to be told everything. Everything is now back on track and the whole team is looking forward to the future. At that time, it was true that I was not 100% ready to play.
After a very long and tiring season, I was no longer alert enough, and could not even think clearly. This brings a lot of negativity to the team and teammates. After that, I suffered a serious knee injury. There is continued disruption in the relationship with the coach in the national team. Everything seemed to fall into disarray at the same time.
However, one thing is for sure, I did not leave the national team because I was not given the captain's armband. The journalists who write that are the biggest misconceptions about this," Courtois said.
The incident of arbitrarily leaving the national team last year has caused the Real Madrid goalkeeper to receive a lot of criticism. Courtois hopes that in this comeback, the Belgian fans will forgive him.
"I hope people can accept me once again. I understand things are not easy but I hope so" - Courtois confided.
After Courtois returned to the Belgian national team, goalkeeper Koen Casteels announced that he would not be in the squad for the FIFA Days in March. Courtois has made his debut for Belgium since 2011, has made 102 appearances and become the number 1 star in goal.
Courtois's career has been associated with his peak years with Real Madrid. At the Bernabeu, he was always the leader of the defense, helping the "White Vultures" win many honors in recent years.
