Thibaut Courtois stands among the top goalkeepers of his era; however, he has had disagreements with various team members over the years.
At higher levels of play, conflicts tend to occur frequently, and Courtois is particularly prone to grabbing attention with these incidents.
We've closely examined the Real Madrid goalkeeper and discovered six players who've had conflicts with him for various reasons.
Koen Casteels
In Courtois' absence from the national team, Casteels stepped in as Belgium’s primary choice for goalkeeper.
It wasn't until the Real Madrid player reversed his stance and opted to be available for national team selections, after the departure of ex-Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco.
Casteels has been displeased with how effortlessly the 32-year-old has managed to come back and, as a result, he has chosen to leave the national team in objection.
"It's peculiar how the football association has completely reversed its stance and is now rolling out the red carpet and warmly embracing his return," Casteels said to MidMid.
I find it somewhat odd that Courtois has the ability to determine on his own whether he should return.
Courtois has subsequently provided his account of what happened and has criticized Casteels' remarks in response.
"I can relate to Koen since he was at the top, and now I'm coming back," the Real Madrid goalkeeper stated.
But the football association was eager to have me back from the beginning, so I became available once more. It wasn’t as though I orchestrated everything.
I have no idea what Koen is referring to when he mentions players who still hold such views. Actually, if you can't be completely honest, it’s better to remain silent.
Jordan Pickford
Following Belgium's 1-0 victory over England in the 2018 World Cup group stage, Courtois found it hard to pass up an opportunity to criticize England’s goalkeeper.
After the match, Courtois commented on Belgium's goal, stating, 'Goalkeeper Pickford is about 10 centimeters shorter than me,'" he explained.
I would have stopped it. He was preoccupied with kicking his legs around.
Pickford quickly retorted, saying, "It doesn't matter to me whether I am the tallest goalkeeper or not."
At a later stage of the competition, Courtois attempted to mend his bridge with the Everton goalkeeper by stating that his remarks regarding the latter’s stature were not intended to be mocking.
This issue regarding Jordan — I feel compelled to address it since I've come across many rumors. Let me emphasize that I never made fun of his stature, as mocking the height of a goalie is something I would never do.
I mentioned that solely because when he encountered a slight contact, I would have blocked it as I'm 15 cm taller. However, I never made fun of his stature. He is an excellent goalkeeper, and I feel compelled to emphasize this.
Kevin De Bruyne
It has been widely reported that De Bruyne does not agree with his Belgian teammate on many issues.
The disagreement between them arose in 2013 when Courtois reportedly had an affair with De Bruyne’s girlfriend at the time.
Today, it appears that they've both moved beyond the drama, though it’s fair to say they aren’t particularly close friends.
Romelu Lukaku
In 2023, tensions emerged between Lukaku and Courtois following the decision to appoint the striker as the captain of the Belgian national team.
It is said that Courtois felt disrespected upon being denied the captaincy position and consequently withdrew from Belgium’s European Championship qualifier against Estonia.
The goalkeeper stated it was due to an injury; however, the ex-Belgium manager provided a contrasting account of the situation.
"We had agreed that Romelu would serve as captain for the game against Austria, and Thibaut for the match against Estonia. Initially, everything seemed to be in order. However, after the contest, he felt hurt by this arrangement," Tedesco informed the press.
I'm taken aback and astonished. This wasn't what I anticipated occurring.
READ NEXT: What became of them? The 5 players Cristiano Ronaldo hoped Real Madrid would secure in 2018
TRY A QUIZ: Could you list the top 25 goalkeepers who have achieved 20 or more clean sheets in the UEFA Champions League?
Diego Simeone
Courtois had some excellent seasons during his time on loan at Atletico Madrid, yet his personal relationship with Simeone has deteriorated over the years.
earlier in the season, they engaged in a verbal altercation after the intense match between Atletico and Real Madrid in La Liga.
Courtois appeared to provoke the supporters at home by celebrating Eder Militão’s first goal in their direction. This led Atletico Madrid fans to throw various items at him, causing the match to be temporarily halted by the referee.
After the game, Simeone pointed the finger at Courtois and said: “If we provoke people, they get angry.
You can acknowledge a goal, but not by turning towards the crowd, mocking them, or gesturing. Such behavior is unwarranted, just as what happened next was unjustifiable.
Next, after their latest confrontation in the Champions League, Courtois couldn't help taking a shot at his ex-boss.
"I'm tired of this constant victim mentality, constantly lamenting over such incidents," Courtois responded after Simeone expressed dissatisfaction with Julian Alvarez's disallowed penalty.
Gerard Pique
Considering how intense El Clasico matches can get, it's not surprising that Real Madrid and Barcelona players frequently exchange barbs through media outlets.
This situation occurred in 2022 when Pique stated that Real Madrid had defeated Barcelona solely through counter-attacking plays.
"They secured victory solely through counterattacks," Pique stated to journalists following Madrid's 3-2 win.
Courtois became the first player to respond to Pique's remarks by stating, "Our team doesn’t solely rely on playing through counterattacks."
We can accomplish anything; it all relies on our opponent.
Post a Comment