Thibaut Courtois slams UEFA for hypocrisy after Nations League launch; compares it to ESL

Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois slammed football authorities, such as UEFA, for prioritizing 'money' over the welfare of the players, as the football calendar is long without sufficient breaks. Courtois explained his point of view after his side lost 2-1 to Italy in the UEFA Nations League third-place match on Sunday.

Nicolo Barella and Domenico Berardi found the back of the net for Roberto Mancini's side, while Charles De Ketelaere scored a consolation goal for Roberto Martínez's side a few minutes before full time.

Nations League: Thibaut Courtois calls upon UEFA's hypocriscy

With both teams making several changes to their starting line-ups due to fatigue, Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois slammed the football authorities for the calendar. While speaking to Sky Sports, the 29-year old said, "This game is just a money game, and we have to be honest about it. We just play it because for UEFA it's extra money. Look at how much both teams changed [line-ups]. If both teams would have been in the final there would have been other players in the final playing. This just shows that we play too many games."

Courtois, who plays for Real Madrid, also criticized UEFA for 'hypocritically' slamming the European Super League plans, when the football authority themselves does not care about the welfare of the players. Courtois said that UEFA cannot be angry with clubs like Madrid wanting a Super League because they 'don't care about the players, they just care about their pockets.'

The Real Madrid goalkeeper went on to add that it is 'a bad thing that players are not spoken about.' Courtois feels that injuries would become more common as players 'are not robots.' He has a problem with the increased schedule of matches as it means 'less rest' for them.

Courtois ended his criticism of UEFA by stating that players need to speak up if they want the football authorities to take their concerns seriously. "Three weeks of holiday is not enough for players to be able to continue for 12 months at the highest level. If we never say anything, it [will be] always the same," said the 29-year old.

Image: Twitter@Belgianfootball