Courtois heading for retirement? Real Madrid keeper brands coach a LIAR

Robin Bairner

• 15 Mar 2024 09:20 GMT
• 6 min read

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois finds himself in the eye of a storm in Belgium, with the former Chelsea shot-stopper having branded national team coach Domenico Tedesco a liar.

Courtois finds himself out of action having suffered a serious knee injury last summer that has prevented him from playing a single minute of Real Madrid’s campaign and prompted Carlo Ancelotti’s side into a rushed loan deal for Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Nevertheless, the 31-year-old clearly retains a burning desire to get back to the top level of the game. He reacted angrily to the suggestion of Tedesco that he has no intention of going to Euro 2024.

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“It's good that Courtois is fit again, but he communicated very clearly. We are focusing on the players who are here,” Tedesco claimed on Thursday.

“We plan our preparation based on his statements. I tried everything to take him to the European Championship this summer, but the last thing I heard was that he didn't feel ready to go. It was clear and honest on his part.”

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A video of the Italian’s comments were posted to X, with Courtois wasting no time in replying.

The goalkeeper’s comment was scathing, with three liar emojis posted under the statement.

What has Courtois said about his injury?

Courtois had previously indicated in December that he was not targeting a return for Euro 2024.

“If I'm lucky, I can play another match in May. But then you can never be 100% ready for a big tournament,” he said.

Since then, however, there has been an upturn in the keeper’s fortunes. Spanish media suggest the he could be available to play for Real Madrid as early as April.

While Courtois has not spoken about his plans changing on the European Championship front, this would at least seem to indicate that the keeper had a realistic shot at being fit for the competition – but it seems Tedesco has not consulted him on that.

It’s been a bad week for the Real Madrid shot-stopper’s international hopes. Earlier this week, Tedesco signed a contract with Belgium that will take him through until 2026. Barring a disaster, he will surely see it out.

That’s bad news for Courtois, who clearly does not appreciate Tedesco and could be sent spinning towards an untimely international retirement because of this.