Kevin De Bruyne's 1-1 goal for Manchester City against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, beating goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, hides a story behind it. And when the ball touched the net at the Bernabeu, a new chapter was written among those who are teammates of the Belgium National Team.
It is that De Bruyne's goal against Courtois to stamp the 1-1 in Madrid revived moments of the past. Although each of them is a figure in their respective teams, both grew up since childhood in the same club: the Genk of their country. There, they quickly began to develop their virtues and the fate of stars seemed inevitable.
De Bruyne and Courtois became close friends and the relationship was further strengthened when they were signed by Chelsea, their first step towards success in Europe. First they were separated by football, then by life.
De Bruyne and Courtois in their time as faithful friends in Genk. Photo: Goal.
Given the lack of minutes of both in England, the midfielder went on loan to Werder Bremen of Germany and the goalkeeper sealed his arrival at Atletico Madrid of Cholo Simeone. But beyond the kilometers of distance that was not the cause of their separation. The reason? A situation linked to Carolina Lijnen, De Bruyne's partner at the time.
The midfielder moved to the Bundesliga in 2013 to go through that adventure with his girlfriend. However, according to English media, she never finished adapting to the German country so she decided to make a trip to Spain with her friends. But in his search for well-being, he ended up finding a new love and unleashing a scandal.
Carolina stayed a few days in Madrid, where she would have started a relationship with Courtois. And the news did not take long to come to light: the Spanish press photographed them together, starting a soap opera that ended up also impacting the privacy of the Belgium National Team since it involved the two great figures of the team.
De Bruyne with Carolina, in times of love.
The relationship between the goalkeeper and Carolina did not prosper but the link between the players was broken. Despite this, both tried to maintain their professionalism in each call to the National Team, shaping a team that although it did not achieve titles was considered one of the best in the world.
They played three World Cups and two European Championships despite the fact that the dialogue between them was practically nil. "There is tension in the dressing room," acknowledged the Spaniard Roberto Martinez, coach of Belgium until the World Cup in Qatar. The versions of fights and confrontations within the locker room were increasing until the surprise elimination of the National Team was consummated, in the group stage.
Courtois and De Bruyne, from friendship to hatred but still sharing the National Team. Photo: Planeta Real Madrid.
On a personal level, both De Bruyne and Courtois managed to rebuild their respective lives. The "Colorado" married Michele Lacroix in 2017, with whom he had two children; while on the side of Courtois for a year and a half is in a couple with the Israeli model Mishel Gerzig.
The Santiago Bernabéu was the new scene of the reunion, this time with rival shirts. In the previous one they complied with the Champions protocol and greeted each other, and at the end of the game it could be seen that they hugged each other gently. The grudges seem to be in the past. And next week they will clash again but in Manchester, to define if City or Real Madrid will play the final of the tournament.
De Bruyne, at her wedding in 2017.
Courtois and his current partner, Israeli model Mishel Gerzig.
De Bruyne's goal against Real Madrid
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