“I knew there was no turning back” – Thibaut Courtois reflects on Belgium hiatus | OneFootball

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has returned to the Belgium national team during the ongoing international break. The 32-year-old, who has 102 caps for his country, had voluntarily exiled himself after a falling out with previous head coach Domenico Tedesco, but he has now made his comeback after the German was sacked in January.

As per Relevo, Courtois spoke to the media on Tuesday, and one of the talking points was his re-integration to the national team.

“We spoke to the group on Monday and the conversation went well. There were a lot of misunderstandings and misinformation, so I wanted to tell my truth to the other players. Now everyone has been able to understand what I had in mind. The issue of the captain’s armband was not the central problem; reducing it to that was a mistake. I’m relieved that I was able to talk face-to-face and clear everything up. Now we can move on.”

Courtois also took the opportunity to reflect on his spat with Tedesco. He did not feel appreciated by the previous Belgium head coach, and he hopes for better with Rudi Garcia, who has since taken the reins.

“The 2023 season was long and this episode was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I had some physical problems, but I still wanted to play for the Red Devils. The coach didn’t come to talk to me once. I had never experienced anything like this. I exploded, I felt that he did not respect me and I lost confidence in him.

“At that moment I knew there was no turning back. I know I don’t have the easiest character, I’m a winner and I can’t change who I am. Sometimes we react with emotion and things get out of hand. You can have regrets, but I think the situation with this coach had gone too far.”