UEFA Nations League: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois makes a big statement, says ‘UEFA cares about money, not players-‘ Belgium failed to grab the 3rd place in the UEFA Nations League as they were defeated by the Euro 2020 Champions- Italy. In the post-match interview, the Real Madrid goalkeeper accused football governing bodies of prioritizing money over the welfare of players, who he feels are being treated like “robots“.
The Real Madrid goalkeeper played in both of Belgium’s Nations League games during the current international break. This includes Sunday’s third-place play-off with Italy, which sparked the 29-year-old’s criticism.
🗣️ “They don’t care about the players they just care about their pockets.”
Thibaut Courtois accused UEFA and FIFA of prioritising money over player welfare after Belgium were beaten 2-1 by Italy in the Nations League third-place play-off. pic.twitter.com/0RbBu0Ux6h
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 11, 2021
UEFA Nations League: Excerpts from Thibaut Courtois’ interview
“This game is just a money game, we have to be honest about it,” he told Sky Sports. “We just play it because for Uefa it is extra money and it is an extra game on TV. OK, for us it’s a good game because it’s against Italy, and for Italy, it’s a good game because it’s against Belgium, but look how much both teams changed their players – if we had both been in the final there would have been others playing.“
Belgium was without two crucial players in captain Eden Hazard and forward Romelu Lukaku for the third-place match as Italy won 2-1. Both the players were suffering from muscular problems after starring in the semi-final loss to France three days earlier.
“This just shows that we play too many games,” Courtois continued. “Next year we have a World Cup in November, we maybe have to play until the latter stages of June again. We will get injured and nobody cares about the players anymore. After a long season we will have to play four games in the Nations League again, we will have two weeks’ holiday and that’s not enough for players to be able to continue playing 12 months at the highest level.”
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UEFA Nations League: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois makes a big statement, says ‘UEFA cares about money, not players’
Apart from playing the UEFA Nations League, Belgium is also yet to play Estonia and Wales in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. While the international break has received a lot of critique from the fans as well as the clubs, it continues to be played.
“If we never say anything it will always be the same. They (Uefa) can be angry about other teams making a Super League but they don’t care about the players, they just care about their pockets,” said Courtois.
UEFA Nations League: How did UEFA respond?
Uefa told BBC Sport: “The Nations League has not increased the overall number of matches played by national teams. It is played on dates of the international match calendar. Its introduction was meant to support national team football with meaningful, balanced, and exciting matches at all levels, which has actually happened thanks to the fact all teams have objectives to achieve in the competition.”
Furthermore, FIFA detailed its plan for reshaping international football around playing the men’s World Cup every two years despite European opposition that could lead to a boycott.
UEFA Nations League: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois makes big statement, says ‘UEFA cares about money not players’
