Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but Belgium have decided to leave him at home

  •  Thibaut Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now.
  •  Despite this, he's been left out of Belgium's Euro 2024 squad.
  •  Manager Domenico Tedesco claimed the keeper wasn't ready, but underlying issues may have also played a role in his absence.

The European Championships are finally upon us and some of the best players in the world will take part in the international tournament as they fight to take the trophy home to their nation. The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Kevin De Bruyne will compete throughout and Euro 2024 will be one of the most star-studded editions of the tournament ever.

One man who won't be taking part this summer, though, is Thibaut Courtois. The goalkeeper, fresh off winning the Champions League again with Real Madrid, isn't injured and is able to play. Regardless, he won't be between the sticks for Belgium when they kick things off in Germany. He won't even be on the bench as it was revealed that he had been left out of the squad entirely when it was announced recently and here is why.

The Belgium Manager Deemed Him Unready

His injury woes led to him being left out

Shortly before the 2023/24 campaign got underway, Courtois tore his cruciate ligaments and was ruled out for a considerable period. Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought in to replace him, and Andriy Lunin stepped up for the majority of the season. The Belgian ultimately returned as things were wrapping up in May, playing four times for Los Blancos.

He was immediately back to his best, keeping clean sheets in all five of his appearances at the end of the campaign. Those include his shutout in the Champions League final as Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to clinch their record-extending 15th trophy. Despite coming back in top form, the Belgium manager, Domenico Tedesco, in a press conference, deemed the former Chelsea man as not being ready for Euro 2024 and left him out of his squad.

That's his reasoning anyway, but anyone who knows the history between the two men will suspect that there are other factors that played into Tedesco's decision to leave Courtois out of his plans as the two have clashed in the past.

The Pair Clashed When Courtois Wasn't Named Belgium Captain

Courtois' lack of match fitness is not the only factor that will have likely played into Tedesco's decision. The two men aren't exactly on the same page and there has been considerable tension between them ever since Romelu Lukaku was named as Belgium captain over the Real Madrid man during a Euro 2024 qualifier against Austria when regular skipper Kevin De Bruyne was unavailable. Courtois wanted the honour as it marked the first time he was playing on home soil after picking up his 100th international cap months earlier, but took it as a slight when he was told he'd wear the armband for Belgium in their next game just days later.

The keeper left the international team's camp last summer as a result and revealed that he felt slighted by the decision and at the time, revealed that there had been a 'breach of trust'. Speaking later on in the year to Sporza in December, Courtois explained further what went into the big falling out.

The 32-year-old hasn't played a single game for his country since and with his absence in Euro 2024 now confirmed, he won't be playing again for them for quite some time. Instead, Nottingham Forest's Mat Sels, Luton Town's Thomas Kaminski and VfL Wolfsburg's Koen Casteels will be included in the squad. While the keeper won't be involved, it's set to be a huge tournament for Belgium, whose golden generation is slowly coming to an end and the threat of the group failing to lift a single trophy looms large.

Euro 2024 is Likely the Golden Generation of Belgium's Last Dance

Stars like Kevin De Bruyne are closing in on the end of their careers

In the middle of the 2010s, seemingly out of nowhere, an incredible crop of talent came through at Belgium and threatened to make the nation one of the best on the planet. Names like Eden Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku and Courtois all came through the ranks around the same period and they were deemed the golden generation of Belgian football.