Romelu Lukaku has revealed he left Manchester United because he felt unwanted, claiming the club failed to shut down rumours about his future. The 33-year-old striker, now at Fenerbahce, spoke out in an interview recorded before his move to Italy.
Lukaku's frustration at Old Trafford
Lukaku joined United from Everton in a £75million deal in 2017, but lasted just two years at Old Trafford. He scored 42 goals in 96 appearances across all competitions before clinching a £74m move to Inter Milan in the summer of 2019.
Speaking on NBA champion Josh Hart's LightHarted podcast, Lukaku said: "A lot of stuff has been said where I didn't feel protected. I felt like a lot of rumours, 'Rom going there', 'They don't want Rom', and nobody came out to shut it down."
"It's not good for me to be at a place where I'm not wanted"
He added: "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."
Lukaku claimed he knew where leaks about his future had originated and said he was among the scapegoats at United when the side lost games. "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," he said. "It is Pogba, it is me or it is Alexis. It's the three of us all the time."
Rebuilding his career after United
Lukaku reinvented himself at Inter Milan with 64 goals in 95 games while leading the Italian giants to the Serie A title in 2020. His exploits saw him clinch a return to Chelsea in 2021 for £90m, but his reunion was disastrous.
In his three years at Chelsea, he spent just one at the club, with two seasons on loan - first back at Inter and then at Roma. He secured a permanent move to Napoli in 2024 and won his second league title in his debut campaign. After an injury-ravaged second season, he joined Fenerbahce this past summer.
