Van der Vaart called Thibaut Courtois a “crybaby” for asking for more vacations

The former Dutch footballer from Real Madrid Rafael Van der Vaart accused the Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois of “whining” for complaining about the load of matches of international players and invited the Real Madrid goalkeeper to “return half of his salary” if he wants more vacations.

“That you return half of your salary and you will be entitled to six months of vacation. He is a footballer, a club pays him a lot to play. Sure, agendas are loaded, but we all have them“Van der Vaart said in statements on public television NOS, where he is a commentator.

The former Netherlands international added that Courtois’s words “they are a whimper, even more of a goalkeeper”.

After losing to Italy in the match for third and fourth place in the Nations League on Sunday, after losing in the semi-final against France, the Belgian goalkeeper complained about the accumulation of matches and charged against UEFA.

“We play because, for UEFA, it is extra money, it is a best-selling game on television. Okay, it’s a good game against Italy, but when you hear the players and coaches say they don’t want to play it …“Courtois said.

“They are against the Super League, but they do the same. They create a new trophy, add matches, it is always like that. They can get angry with those who want to create a Super League, but they do it too”He added.

The goalkeeper complained that next year a World Cup will be played in November and this year it will be played until the end of June.

“We are going to get injured! Nobody cares about the players anymore“, Said the goalkeeper, who considered that”three weeks of vacation is not enough for players to play for 12 months at the highest level”.

“If we never say anything, will it always be the same? We are not robots! More games and less and less rest for us and nobody cares“, lament.

Van der Vaart’s statements already generated controversy during the last European Championship, when the former footballer harshly criticized the “horrible” football of the Spanish team in the group stage and wished La Roja as a rival for the Netherlands.

The Dutch team, however, fell in the round of 16 against the Czech Republic, while Spain lost in the penalty shootout in the semifinal against Italy, ultimately champions.

Van der Vaart then joked that he had already warned that “Spain was a better rival for the Netherlands” and closed the controversy.