Graeme Souness has slammed Kevin de Bruyne for his 'totally unnecessary' comments about Belgium before the World Cup.
The No.2 ranked side in the world were knocked out at the group stages following Thursday's 0-0 draw against Croatia. former Everton and Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku missed four golden chances to score in the second-half, typifying a wastefulness throughout the group stages that saw the Red Devils score just once from 34 shots on goal.
Belgium's tournament was shrouded with controversy and discontent from the off, with de Bruyne quoted in an interview with the Guardian admitting his nation had 'no chance' of winning the World Cup because they were 'too old'. Reports of fallouts within the camp surfaced once the players were in Qatar, with Jan Vertonghen sarcastically using the same reasoning to explain why the attack - including de Bruyne - had been so impotent.
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"Not necessary, you gain nothing," Souness told ITV after the final whistle. "If those are your thoughts, keep them to yourself. That would not have spread a happy message in the camp, just totally unnecessary, why he’s chose to do that only he could tell you. But that is not what you want to hear from their best player."
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez revealed shortly after his side's elimination that his contract - set to end when the tournament was over for them - would not be renewed, effectively relieving him of his duties. His 26-man squad included 15 players who were 29 or over.
Liverpool's next opponents Manchester City will receive a slight boost as a result of Belgium's elimination, with de Bruyne now able to rest for three weeks before his side host the Reds in the Carabao Cup on December 22.
Pep Guardiola has already been able to award Erling Haaland with a significant rest period as his Norway side failed to qualify, although with 16 total players in Qatar, the current Premier League champions have the suffered the most from this mid-season tournament.
Jurgen Klopp has seen the likes of Darwin Nunez, Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson and Ibrahima Konate head to the Middle East - a total of seven Reds have represented their countries in the tournament.
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