Thibaut Courtois slammed by Belgium teammate over captaincy row

Rumours about a crisis in Belgium’s dressing room over the captaincy turn out to be true.

Belgium squad are “disappointed” by Thibaut Courtois’ decision to leave the national team camp, according to Yannick Carrasco.

On Monday, Domenico Tedesco revealed the Real Madrid star had left Belgium’s squad before their match against Estonia. According to the manager, Courtois “felt offended” by his decision to give the armband to Romelu Lukaku.

Courtois hit back by claiming he left the team due to an injury. But a new interview from Carrasco suggests otherwise.

“We’ve more or less understood what happened,” the Atletico Madrid star told RTBF.

“We had a meeting with the coach, who was clear with us. We, the older players, haven’t yet had the opportunity to speak with Thibaut. But we were disappointed with his reaction.”

“At the end of the day, he’s a key member of the team, one of the three captains. An armband is just a detail. You have to show that you’re a leader and a captain with your own personality. He chose to leave. Whether he was embarrassed or not, we don’t know. But one of the reasons he left was also the armband. Now that’s clear.”

Since his appointment as Roberto Martinez’s replacement, Dominico Tedesco has found a solid start at Belgium. The 37-year-old is expected to make a final decision over the captaincy before the Red Devils’ next Euro 2026 qualifier on September 9.