Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois have had a turbulent relationship down the years – with the international teammates involved in a love triangle with Caroline Lijnen, who cheated on De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne scored against Thibaut Courtois again in the Champions League (Image: OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP via Getty Images)

Kevin De Bruyne loves a goal against Thibaut Courtois – that strike against Chelsea, last season in the Champions League, and last week’s thunderbolt at the Bernabeu for Manchester City.

And while they are Belgium team-mates, the pair could be forgiven for not being on friendly terms after De Bruyne’s first love bedded down with Courtois when the two were still together.

Caroline Lijnen revealed details of the tryst to a Belgian magazine, saying: “That evening, Thibaut offered me what I had not received during a three-year relationship with Kevin.

“With Thibaut, I could talk about anything and everything, and he had even prepared me a delicious meal. Kevin never did it for me.”

The revelation was said to have left De Bruyne ‘devastated’ – but Caroline also claimed De Bruyne had been unfaithful. De Bruyne had remained silent about the rumours, but spoke about his time with Caroline in his autobiography, also revealing that he has been able to maintain a professional relationship with Courtois.

Caroline Lijnen was at the centre of the love triangle (Image: carlijnen/Instagram)

He wrote: “Although I still can not believe what Courtois has done, we continue to work together professionally.

“The coach asked me if he should leave the team. I do not think I had the right to say that he can not play for the national team anymore because he did something wrong. Of course, he remains a good goalkeeper. So I said he could stay.”

Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne can be “proffesional together” (Image: Getty Images)

The pair have been to numerous tournaments as part of Belgium’s “Golden Generation” – which ultimately failed to win anything of note following Qatar’s last chance saloon.

De Bruyne has moved on too – and he credits his wife Michele De Bruyne with changing his life, after he was too scared to slide into her DMs. Writing in The Players Tribunal, he said: “I had my (future) wife by my side.

“She helped me grow in ways that I’ve probably never expressed out loud – even to her… She changed my life in so many ways. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without her.”

Kevin De Bruyne is now married to Michele De Bruyne (Image: lacroixmichele / Instagram)

Kevin De Bruyne netted City’s only goal at the Bernabeu (Image: Getty Images)

On Wednesday evening, De Bruyne and Courtois will meet again as Manchester City look to book a spot in the Champions League final on their quest for a first title.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid, the undisputed masters of Europe after their exploits over the last few seasons, could set themselves up for a sixth title in a decade.