– The press announced in the morning that Courtois will not be on the trip to Estonia. The question of the armband is raised for the first time.
– Questionedthe father of Thibaut Courtois affirms that the departure of his son is not linked to the captaincy and evokes a knee inflammation as main reason for leaving. A decision taken by mutual agreement with the Real Madrid medical staff indicates, he says.
– A press conference is planned for the afternoon and Domenico Tedesco take the opportunity to empty his bag in front of the media. “We decided that Romelu would be captain against Austria and Thibaut against Estonia. It was OK. After the match, he felt offended by this. I am surprised and shocked. I didn’t expect something like this to happen […] A wound ? It would be easy for me to say he’s hurt. But that would be a lie on my part.”
– That same evening, Thibaut Courtois responds scathingly to Tedesco. The Devils’ No. 1 accuses the coach of having “provided a partial and subjective account of their conversation” and seems furious that Tedesco unpacked everything in front of the press. “LThe coach’s evaluations do not correspond to reality“, he also adds. If he does not explicitly confirm that he left because of the armband affair, Courtois does not hide a certain irritation but still maintains the version of the knee injury.
August 7, 2023: Vercauteren flies to Madrid
Franky Vercauteren, technical director of the federation, flies to Madrid to speak with Courtois and pick up the pieces. Tedesco is not on the trip.
August 10, 2023: Serious injury for Courtois
Tear of the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee for Thibaut Courtois. He later explained that the message of support received from Tedesco was rather cold.
December 6, 2023: Rumors of absence from the Euro
The first rumors about Courtois’ absence at the Euro are emerging in the Spanish press. The Courtois clan denies this.
December 19, 2023: Courtois announces that he will miss the Euro, partially apologizes and charges Tedesco