'Uefa care about money not players'

Courtois' Belgium lost 2-1 to Italy in Sunday's Nations League third place playoff
Thibaut Courtois accused the football governing bodies to prioritizing money over the welfare and well-being of players. He feels that they are treated like "robots" by Thibaut Courtois.

Real Madrid's goalkeeper, Carlos Martinez, was present in the two Belgian Nations League games.

This includes Sunday's third place playoff with Italy which was criticized by the 29-year old.

Sky Sports told him that the game was a money game and that he had to be truthful about it.

"We play it because it's extra money for Uefa and an extra game on TV.

"OK, it's good for us because it's gegen Italy, and for Italy because it'sversus Belgium. But look at how both teams changed their players. If we had been in the final, there would have been other players.

Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, forwards, were absent from Sunday's match - Italy won 2-1. Players with muscular problems had been playing in the semi-final loss against France three days prior to that.

Courtois said, "This just proves that we play too much games." "Next year, there will be a World Cup in Nov. We may have to play until June's end again. We will be hurt and nobody is concerned about the players.

"After a long season, we will need to play four more games in the Nations League. We will also have two weeks of vacation. This is not enough time for players to be able continue to play 12 months at the highest level.

"If we don't say anything, it will always remain the same." They (Uefa), can be mad at other Super League teams, but they don’t care about the players. They just care about their pocketbooks.

Fifa, the world governing body for football, proposes further changes to the calendar. A World Cup would be played every two years rather than the current four.

Courtois added, "You hear they want to put an European Championships and World Cup every year." "When will we have a break?" Never.

"So, in the end, top players will get hurt all the time and that's it. This is something that should be taken more seriously and well managed. We are not robots.

Uefa was not available for comment when the BBC contacted them.