Real Madrid star announced his decision not to play Euro 2024 with his national team

Every child who starts playing soccer dreams of one day representing his country in an international tournament. The World Cup is the most important sporting competition in existence and no one wants to miss it. But it's not the only prestigious national team tournament. The Euro is almost as difficult as the World Cup, as most of the soccer stars compete there, with the exception of the Argentinians, Brazilians and Uruguayans.

In fact, many top players dream of winning that title and in recent years have done their best to achieve it. Cristiano Ronaldo achieved it in 2016 with the Portugal National Team, but other stars like Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, Gavi, Pedri and Kevin De Bruyne have never made it.

Next summer they will get another chance. Between June 14 and July 14, the tournament that brings together the best teams in Europe will be held in Germany. But unexpectedly, one of the best players in the world has announced his decision not to participate there.

He is Thibaut Cortouis. The Real Madrid goalkeeper, considered by many as the best in his position, will not be part of the Belgium squad during the tournament. In an interview with Sporza, he said: "I won't go to the next European Championship because of the injury. I have to recover 100 percent and it's better not to set myself a recovery date or targets. If everything goes well, I could play in May, but it's not enough time to face a major tournament with the national team". And then he lamented: "World Cups and European Championships are the best thing a footballer can have".

What happened to him?

Courtois has not been able to play even one game this season. The week before the start of La Liga he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, for which he had to undergo surgery. That forced Real Madrid to urgently hire Kepa Arrizabalaga, who arrived on a one-year loan from Chelsea.