Kevin De Bruyne says he didn't have much say in choosing Belgium's new captain as coach Rudi Garcia picked of Youri Tielemans to wear the armband.

Kylian Mbappe delivered a stunning hat-trick in Real Madrid’s 5-0 Champions League win over Kairat Almaty on Tuesday, but the French star still left the pitch frustrated at not taking all of his chances. The 26-year-old, who has now scored 13 goals this season, believes finishing opportunities is exactly what he was brought to the club to do.

Thibaut Courtois has offered an unusual piece of advice to Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens ahead of his daunting Anfield test against Premier League champions Liverpool. With Anfield remaining one of the most intimidating venues in world football, the 23-year-old faces a true baptism of fire as Ruben Amorim's struggling side face Arne Slot's free-scoring Reds.

Thibaut Courtois has launched a scathing attack on La Liga president Javier Tebas for censoring player protests and called the league's actions “manipulation”. The Real Madrid goalkeeper also fired back at Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s insinuations about refereeing bias ahead of a crucial run of fixtures, including Juventus and El Clasico.

Thibaut Courtois has come to the defence of his Real Madrid team-mate Vinicius Junior, stating that "it's not always easy when an entire stadium is after" the Brazilian. The Belgian goalkeeper believes that the opponents keep trying to take the Brazilian out of the game, but he has been "improving" by taking a leaf out of the books of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.