Real Madrid superstar refuses to return to national team under current manager | OneFootball

It has been a while now since Thibaut Courtois stopped playing with the Belgian national team owing to tensions with the current manager Benjamin Tedesco.

The star goalkeeper posted on his social media earlier this year and made the news public that he would not return to the national team dynamics under the current manager at any cost.

In fact, the Belgian Football Federation even publicly sided with Tedesco on the matter despite the team’s poor run in Euro 2024 in which Courtois played no part.

Approaches made

As relayed by Mario Cortegana in a recent update, the Belgian FA CEO Peter Willems met with Courtois in Madrid to test the waters over a return to the national team.

He was hoping the goalkeeper would put the tensions to the side and sort out his relationship with the manager for a return to the international scene.

Courtois unwilling to return to Belgium camp. (Photo by Rafa Babot/Getty Images)

The Real Madrid star, however, has stuck firm to his ground and told the official that he does not intend to return under Tedesco at any cost.

Tensions between Tedesco and Courtois began last June after the manager publicly spread the news of Courtois leaving the national team camp after being snubbed of the captaincy.

After all, the actual reason he left the camp at the time was a knee injury as he confirmed later and the manager’s statement did not go down well with the player.

With the shot-stopper now out of international football dynamics, he has dedicated his entire attention towards Real Madrid and is also benefitting from regular breaks to ensure his complete fitness.

While he has suffered regular injuries this season, Los Blancos hope to have him back as soon as the ongoing international break