New details are continuing to emerge over Belgium's underwhelming World Cup campaign, as Roberto Martinez struggles to maintain the squad.
His big stars have clashed in the dressing room and have made controversial remarks to the media. One of the new findings indicates that Kevin de Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois actually do not speak due to private reasons, despite being on the same national side.
The Courtois affair
RTL reports that the two stars haven't spoken in years. Fans online have claimed that the 'private reasons' mentioned involve De Bruyne's ex-girlfriend, Caroline Lijnen. In 2014, Lijnen revealed she had cheated on KDB with his Belgium teammate Courtois. She claimed it was payback of sorts, after De Bruyne had admitted he had cheated on her with her best friend.
The two (Lijnen and De Bruyne) were in a relationship for three years before breaking it off due to the affair. KDB was devastated by the news at that time, but Daily Mail reported he and Courtois had patched up their issues. However, the new report by RTL that the two haven't spoken in years, has reignited memories of the Courtois affair. Hazard and Lukaku The report also states that captain Eden Hazard and Leandro Trossard are not on talking terms, the same as strikers Romelu Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi, but like the De Bruyne-Cortouis case, no reason has been given.
Hazard and Lukaku
The report also states that captain Eden Hazard and Leandro Trossard are not on talking terms, the same as strikers Romelu Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi, but like the De Bruyne-Cortouis case, no reason has been given.
De Bruyne, Hazard and Vertonghen clash
Sports Brief had earlier reported that Belgium's defeat to Morocco appears to have opened a can of worms, with big stars reported to have had a huge confrontation in the dressing room.
The 2018 semi-finalists fell to a shock 2-0 defeat to the African giants, leaving their chances of progression to the next stage in limbo. They will now have to beat Croatia in their final group game to progress. Before the game against the Atlas Lions, De Bruyne gave controversial remarks where he opined the Belgian squad is too old to win the World Cup.