Thibaut Courtois suggested the Yashin Trophy had been "invented" to appease goalkeepers as he struggled to understand his seventh-placed Ballon d'Or finish – scepticism that was shared by Iker Casillas.
Keeper Courtois' Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema took the top award in Monday's Paris ceremony, named the best player in the world by France Football.
Benzema was a deserving winner, as Courtois himself acknowledged, having scored 44 goals in 46 games as Madrid won LaLiga and the Champions League in 2021-22. He netted two hat-tricks among a record-equalling 10 goals in the Champions League knockout stage.
But Courtois was also a part of those two triumphs and had an equally vital role in the European success, making nine saves in the final against Liverpool – a record since Opta data was first gathered in 2003-04 and worth 2.5 prevented goals, according to expected goals on target data.
The Belgium international beat Liverpool's Alisson to the Yashin Trophy, awarded to the world's best goalkeeper, yet he felt he should have fared better in the overall ranking.
"First of all, I want to say that I am very happy for Karim Benzema," Courtois told Cadena SER.
"It seems that it is better to score a goal than to stop one. It is a battle that remains to be won. Seeing the logic of the vote, I had no chance of finishing very high, nor of winning it of course.
"I'm not saying I had to win it! But you win La Liga, the Champions League, your team wins thanks to your saves... and you only finish seventh. You're not even on the podium.
"In the top 10, there wasn't even a defender. At least this year they invented the trophy for the best goalkeeper."
Meanwhile, on Twitter, Courtois shared a post from former Madrid keeper Casillas, which read: "I'm happy for Thibaut Courtois! By far he is the best goalkeeper in the world.
"What I'm not happy about is not having put him on the final podium for the Ballon d'Or. I still don't understand what those who choose this award are based on."
Former Liverpool defender Matip confirms retirement
Former Liverpool defender Joel Matip has confirmed his retirement from professional football.
Matip, who joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016, has been without a club since leaving Anfield at the end of last season and has since decided to call time on his 15-year career.
The 33-year-old started his career at Schalke, making 258 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit and helping them lift the DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup in 2011.
Matip was among the first signings made by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, joining in the same window as Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Loris Karius.
He helped the Reds return to the Champions League in Klopp's first full campaign in charge, making 29 Premier League appearances and keeping nine clean sheets.
However, his spell with the Reds was marred by repetitive injuries, sustaining 16 different issues across his eight-year spell on Merseyside.
The former Cameroon international's final appearance for Liverpool came in a 4-3 win over Fulham in December 2023 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the same game.
Matip made 201 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and winning six major honours, which included the Reds' sixth Champions League triumph.
Koeman bemused by 'frustrating' Van Dijk red against Hungary
Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman was left perplexed by Virgil van Dijk's "frustrating" red card in his side's 1-1 draw with Hungary on Friday.
Van Dijk, making his 77th appearance for his country, received the first dismissal of his international career with two yellow cards in the space of three minutes in the second half.
The first booking stemmed from his protests to referee Lukas Fahndric after a foul on Donyell Malen, before committing a foul soon after to receive his marching orders.
Van Dijk's dismissal looked to have settled the contest after Roland Sallai had smashed home Zsolt Nagy's cross to hand Hungary a goal advantage in the first half.
But the Netherlands drew level four minutes after going down to 10 men when Denzel Dumfries headed Cody Gakpo's free-kick beyond Denes Dibusz to seal a share of the spoils.
Speaking after the game, Koeman was left baffled by the decision to hand Van Dijk a first yellow card for discussing the foul on Malen with the referee.
"That moment was frustrating," Koeman told the NOS. "I don't understand it. I think we agreed that a captain can protest to a referee.
"That foul [on Malen] was good for a red card. There was no intention at all to play the ball. That Virgil then takes that second card is not convenient. He knows that himself."
Van Dijk's red card also saw him become the oldest player to be sent off (33 years and 95 days) since Phillip Cocu (34 years and 313 days) against the same opponents.
The Liverpool captain had enjoyed a solid game up until his dismissal, completing more passes (145) than any other player, 99 of which came in the first 45 minutes, only adding to his frustration in his assessment at full-time.
"[The red card] is a bummer. It should not have happened. But I'm especially angry about the first," Van Dijk told ESPN Netherlands.
"They say the captain is the only one who can talk to the referee. I walk up to him. Up tempo, but not in a nasty way, not at all. Very respectful.
"Because I felt it was a breakaway player, he did not go for the ball at all. If even the captain can not say anything ... then it gets difficult."
Nagelsmann aiming to rediscover Germany's ruthless streak despite Bosnia win
Julian Nagelsmann believes his Germany side should have been more ruthless after downing Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 in the Nations League on Friday.
Deniz Undav continued his scoring streak for the national side, with his brace enough to see Germany over the line despite Edin Dzeko halving the deficit in the 70th minute.
Nagelsmann's side sit top of Group A3 after three games ahead of facing the Netherlands on Monday, a side they drew 2-2 with last month.
But the Germany head coach wants to see an improvement in front of goal after dominating for large parts at the Stadion Bilino Polje against Bosnia.
The visitors ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.81 from their 12 shots, eight of which were on target, while also creating five big chances.
Germany also finished the game with 73.1% possession, though Nagelsmann said his players must find their clinical edge when they face the Netherlands.
"We didn't start so well and kept the ball on one side too much in the first ten minutes," Nagelsmann said.
"When we adjusted that, it was good and we were dominant. Given our superiority, we could have scored more goals.
"Regarding the goal we conceded, Edin Dzeko shouldn't have been that free inside the box. But the team kept control after that. We didn't want to take many risks."
Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz echoed Nagelsmann's thoughts, acknowledging his side's wastefulness in front of goal.
Wirtz impressed on Friday, creating more chances (four), playing more passes into the final third (36) and having more touches in the opposition box (six) than any of his team-mates.
"I think we made it difficult for ourselves. We could have won by a bigger margin," Wirtz said.
"Against the Netherlands we expect long balls to the striker.
"Bosnia did something similar today, but of course it will be even more difficult on Monday.
"The quality of the Dutch team is even higher."
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