Roberto Martinez reveals the real reason Romelu Lukaku wanted out of Manchester United
Romelu Lukaku needed a change of scene because he was bored of life at Manchester United, according to Belgium boss Roberto Martinez.
The striker left United after two years this summer to join Antonio Conte at Inter Milan in a £74 million deal.
Lukaku has made an instant impression in Italy after scoring on his debut in a 4-0 win over newly-promoted Lecce at San Siro.
His international manager Martinez believes that the move came at the right time for the former Everton star.
“Romelu needed a new challenge,” he said, as reported by the Mirror.
“Sometimes you get bored of a club.
“Working with Conte will please him and the project of Inter, who will chase the title, is interesting. I saw Lukaku laugh again and it made me happy.”
Lukaku is likely to be named in Martinez’s Belgium squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against San Marino and Scotland next month.
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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.