Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois aims dig at Leicester when discussing Belgium

Reports in October claimed the former Chelsea goalkeeper had said in the Belgian dressing room that he did not want to play with stars who had just gone down from their respective leagues during their Euro 2024 qualifier against Austria.

That comment was thought to be aimed at Timothy Castagne, Youri Tielemans and Dennis Praet, who were all relegated with Leicester last season.

But despite those Belgium players being part of the Foxes side that finished third from bottom, Red Devils shot-stopper Courtois is now denying he made those comments.

However, he did go on to reveal he knows who may have told the press he said that, as he explained what he really thought about having relegated players in the squad.

When asked by Sporza about the claims in an interview about Belgium, he said: "Not at all. I am convinced that certain players also passed on things to the media.

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"It reinforced how I felt and what few others knew. I have never said that players are not adequate.

"I have known guys like Castagne, Tielemans and Praet for a long time - they even played at the World Cup in Russia."

He continued: "The only thing is - and I am not afraid to say this: if you fall behind in the match against Austria and you have relegated players in the team who have lost more matches than they have won... Then it becomes difficult to reverse that situation.

"Look, if you are in the lead for a full year and you put a 0-2 score back a few times, it is not a problem to fall behind.

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"You know that you will still win. Boys who were in a negative position, may be more likely to give up.

"And then I am not at all disparaging Leicester or certain boys. That just happens in football, right.

"Also for goalkeepers. In my first season at Real Madrid I conceded a lot of goals and it was more difficult to make decisive saves.

"I'll say it: only two people knew what I had said about that. So someone wanted to put me in a bad light."

Castagne and Tielemans no longer play for the Foxes, with the former going to Fulham and the latter moving to Aston Villa, while Praet still plays for the club in the Championship.

Courtois' interview also covered a number of other topics, including addressing his announcement that he won't take part in Euro 2024 so he can fully focus on recovering from his ACL injury.

He also sensationally accused Belgium's manager Domenico Tedesco of threatening to leak their conversations to the press.