Yannick Carrasco slams Thibaut Courtois claiming older players in the Belgian squad are 'disappointed with the goalkeeper's reaction' amid captaincy row
- Yannick Carrasco has slammed his international team-mate Thibaut Courtois
- The goalkeeper left the Belgian camp amid a row over the captains arm band
- Carrasco admitted that some 'older players' in the group were 'disappointed'
Yannick Carrasco has hit out at his international team-mate Thibaut Courtois after reports on Monday said he had walked out of Belgium's international camp amid a row over the captain's armband.
Romelu Lukaku was named captain ahead of the Real Madrid goalkeeper for their 1-1 draw against Austria in the absence of usual skipper Kevin de Bruyne, which was also Courtois' 100th cap for his international side.
It was reportedly a planned move by his manager Domenico Tedesco, who had vowed to give Courtois the armband for their match against Estonia on Tuesday.
But following the game against Austria, the manager told reporters that the Goalkeeper would be going home, denying rumours that he was injured, saying:'I wish I could say it's an injury, but I can't lie.
'After the match he [Courtois] suddenly wanted to talk to me and said he was going home because he was disappointed and felt offended,' he added.
![Yannick Carrasco (left) has hit out at goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois following row over Belgium's captaincy row](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/06/21/18/72382599-12219925-image-a-10_1687370359827.jpg)
Yannick Carrasco (left) has hit out at goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois following row over Belgium's captaincy row
![The Real Madrid shot-stopper reportedly left the Belgian camp after the side's manager decided to give the armband to Romelu Lukaku instead of him](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/06/21/18/72382621-12219925-image-a-11_1687370364708.jpg)
The Real Madrid shot-stopper reportedly left the Belgian camp after the side's manager decided to give the armband to Romelu Lukaku instead of him
![Carrasco said older players inside the Belgian camp were 'disappointed' with the goalkeeper](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/06/21/18/72382589-12219925-image-a-12_1687370387768.jpg)
Carrasco said older players inside the Belgian camp were 'disappointed' with the goalkeeper
'From the beginning I tried to show him the appreciation he deserves. In my eyes he is the best goalkeeper in the world. I love him as a goalkeeper, but also as a human being. I am shocked.'
The goalkeeper subsequently hit out at his manager's claims, saying he was 'deeply disappointed' and denied any suggestion that he walked out because of a captaincy row.
But he has now been slammed by his team-mates, with Carrasco stating several older players in the Belgium cohort have not been able to speak to him and were 'disappointed' with the goalkeeper.
'We've more or less understood what happened,' the midfielder 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.'
The Belgian keeper took to his personal website yesterday to defend himself, saying: 'This afternoon I was surprised to hear the coach's press conference in which he gave a partial and subjective account of a private conversation we had after the match against Austria.'
'I want to make it clear that it is not the first time or the last time that I talk to a coach about issues related to a locker room, but it is the first time that someone decides to tell it publicly.
![It came after Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco (right) suggested Courtois had left the camp because he was 'offended' over the decision not to make him captainn](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/06/21/19/72384649-12219925-image-a-16_1687370561459.jpg)
It came after Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco (right) suggested Courtois had left the camp because he was 'offended' over the decision not to make him captainn
![Courtois (left) has since posted on his personal website to say that the 'coach's assessments did not fit with reality'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/06/21/18/72382623-12219925-image-a-13_1687370393047.jpg)
Courtois (left) has since posted on his personal website to say that the 'coach's assessments did not fit with reality'
'I am deeply disappointed with this, but I want to make it clear that the coach's assessments do not fit with reality.'
Other rumours have surfaced since that his absence that the Red Devils keeper may have missed the match because of his upcoming wedding, while his fiance has since waded to the defence of the goalkeeper posting a photo of his knee strapped up on social media.
It's not the first time in recent memory that the Belgian squad has fallen out, after they flew home separately from the 2022 World Cup, after De Bruyne and Jan Vertonghen fell out over the Man City star's claims that the squad was 'too old'.
Following their draw against Austria, Belgium now sit second in Group F, three points adrift of the leaders.
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