Kevin De Bruyne has been labelled a ‘spoiled brat’ by a journalist after the Belgium star gave a spiky response to a question about his country’s ‘Golden Generation’. It comes in the aftermath of De Bruyne and his teammates crashing out of Euro 2024 following a disappointing 1-0 loss against France.
Jan Vertonghen diverted a Randall Kolo Muani strike into his own net as the two heavyweights of international football threatened to stumble to a goalless draw. Belgium’s elimination in the Round of 16 brought to an end an underwhelming campaign, in which they only won once in four games.
De Bruyne was unable to provide a creative spark for the most part as the Belgians only scored in one match – a 2-0 win over Romania. The 33-year-old wasn’t in the mood to be quizzed on his nation’s ‘Golden Generation’ after seeing his side exit yet another international tournament.
Kevin De Bruyne Calls Journalist ‘Stupid’
The midfielder was unimpressed with a question after Belgium’s loss
With the likes of De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku turning out for the Red Devils in recent tournaments, there were a lot of expectations placed upon Belgium to deliver a major honour. However, this never came to fruition as the country’s best finish came at the 2018 World Cup (third).
Tancredi Palmeri – an Italian journalist – asked the Manchester City star to provide an explanation behind the team’s failure to deliver on those expectations. De Bruyne clearly wasn’t in the mood as he replied: “And you say that France, England, Spain, Germany have no Golden Generation?” He then walked off while saying “stupid” under his breath. View the interview below:
Journalist Responds to De Bruyne
He has hit back at the Man City star
Since the incident took place, Palmeri has taken to social media to address the Belgian hero. The SportItalia correspondent was scathing in his assessment on X (formerly Twitter) as he posted:
“Ahah DeBruyne just called me stupid. Hey Kevin, little memo for you: the golden generation you mentioned of France, England, Germany and Spain they ALL REACHED A FINAL!”
Belgium’s failure to reach a major final will likely be something that weighs heavy on the players’ minds, especially for the world-class playmaker who may be running out of opportunities. The journalist went on to label De Bruyne a ‘spoiled brat’ as he ranted: “Usual footballer that wants only question telling him how good they are.” View Palmeri’s post below:
Belgium Crash Out of Euro 2024
The Red Devils were one of the most disappointing sides at Euro 2024
Domenico Tedesco’s men were poor throughout their time in Germany this summer as they fell to an opening day defeat against Slovakia before being held to a goalless draw against Ukraine. There was the aforementioned victory over Romania in between those underwhelming results.
Ultimately, De Bruyne and co. laboured to a 1-0 defeat against the 2016 finalists France with Vertonghan perhaps wrapping up his international career with an unfortunate own goal. Belgium failed to cause too many issues for Mike Maignan in the French goal, as Romelu Lukaku ended the tournament with no goals to his name. The striker found the net three times in the group stages but all of those efforts were flagged offside.