Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper on the Belgian men's national football team, and their manager Domenico Tedesco on Monday gave different explanations for why the 31-year-old Real Madrid goalie left Belgium's training camp after the 1-1 Euro 2024 qualifier game against Austria.

Belgium were held 1-1 by Austria at home on June 17. Courtois played in that game but told Tedesco he wouldn't appear in Tuesday's game against Estonia.

Tedesco told reporters that Courtois left because he was not named the team's captain and felt disrespected. The regular skipper Kevin De Bruyne didn't play in the game against Austria, and the armband was given to Romelu Lukaku instead of Courtois.

"Together, we decided that Romelu would be captain against Austria and Thibaut tomorrow against Estonia," Tedesco said. "That was okay for everyone, but after the match, he [Courtois] suddenly wanted to talk to me and said he was going home because he was disappointed and felt offended."

"From the beginning, I tried to show him the appreciation he deserves. In my eyes, he is the best goalkeeper in the world. I love him as a goalkeeper but also as a human being. I am shocked," Tedesco said.

In response, Courtois released a statement on thibautcourtois.com, claiming that he left the training camp because of a knee injury and expressing his disappointment at the manager's remarks.

"I am deeply disappointed with this, but I want to make clear that the coach's assessments do not fit with reality," Courtois said in the statement. "I have not demanded anything, and I have spoken to my teammate Romelu Lukaku to clarify any circumstances related to this situation."

Courtois revealed that he underwent a checkup for a problem in his right knee on Sunday and then talked to the Real Madrid and Belgium medical teams before deciding to leave the training camp.

Belgium are in Group F with Sweden, Austria, Estonia and Azerbaijan in the Euro 2024 qualifying tournament. They beat Sweden 3-0 in their first game and had a 1-1 draw with Austria in the second competition.