Wasn't good for me to be at a place where I’m not wanted, reveals Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku has criticized the way Manchester United handled his departure from the club, hitting out at a series of leaks before his move. The 26-year-old who joined Inter Milan two weeks ago in a £73 million deal had been linked with an exit all summer and did not play in their pre-season tour.
Romelu Lukaku has chastised the way Manchester United handled his exit from the club, going on to openly reveal just what happened in the days before his move. The former Chelsea and Everton striker joined Inter Milan a little over two weeks ago in a deal worth around £73 million, but the rumours were swirling around the Belgian international's transfer for a long time.
Ever since he revealed that he would one day like to play football in Italy, Lukaku had been furiously linked with a move and did not play a part in Manchester United’s pre-season tour. It was claimed that he was injured, but reports also indicated that Lukaku wasn’t played because of his impending move to either Juventus or Inter Milan, with him eventually moving to the latter.
“A lot of stuff has been said where I didn’t feel protected. I felt like [there were] a lot of rumours: “Rom going there”; “They don’t want Rom”, and nobody came out to shut it down. It was for a good three, four weeks. I’m waiting for someone to come out and shut it down. It didn’t happen. I had my conversation, told them it was better to go our separate ways.
“If you don’t want to protect somebody, all these rumours come out. I just wanted you to say: “Rom is going to fight for his place”, but it never happened for four, five months. It was all: “He’s got to go, he doesn’t deserve to be there”. Well OK, then I want to go now,” the Belgium international revealed to Lightharted Podcast, in an interview prior to his move.
The Belgian had fallen out favour with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer well before the summer window opened, with the Norwegian opting to use Marcus Rashford instead. That did cause a few issues for Lukaku but injuries allowed him to make a comeback, netting four goals in his final seven league starts.
“There is fighting for your position, but also being somewhere that people want you to be. If you’re happy, you find a way. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the bench or starting. Who leaks it? Not me. Not my agent. I see it on my phone come out of nowhere. I told them it’s not good for me to be at a place where I’m not wanted.
“We’re not stupid. They consider us dumb, but we are not dumb, we know who is doing leaks and stuff. I told them: ‘You can’t be working like this, it’s better for me to go now,” Lukaku concluded.