Lukaku defends Pogba and Sanchez, hits out at Man Utd for failing to shut down ‘leaks’
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Updated 21/08/2019 at 21:49 GMT
Romelu Lukaku has criticised Manchester United for failing to shut down rumours he was going to leave the club, while also coming to the defence of Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba.
Romelu Lukaku (R) and Paul Pogba of Manchester United look on after a training session on July 19, 2019 in Singapore, Singapore.
Image credit: Getty Images
The Belgian joined Inter from United earlier this month in a £73m move, having fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford.
Speaking before his departure on the LightHarted Podcast with Josh Hart, Lukaku claimed he did not feel protected from the rumours, adding: “We are not dumb, we know who is doing leaks.”
He 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 was for a good three, four weeks. I'm waiting for someone to come out and shut it down. It didn't happen.
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Lukaku, Conte - Inter, training 2019 - Getty Images
Image credit: Getty Images
"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. 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. But nobody told me that was the situation, so I thought for two, three weeks to analyse, see all this **** coming out in the media. 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.
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Pogba
Image credit: Eurosport
Lukaku also leapt to the defence of Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba, claiming he and the duo were made scapegoats at the club.
“They have to find somebody. There’s Pogba, there’s me or Alexis. It’s the three of us all the time,” he added.
“For me, I am like, I just see it in many ways. For me, a lot of people think I should not be part of that system.
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Alexis Sánchez - Manchester United
Image credit: Getty Images
“That’s my feeling and the conversations that I have I just know. For me, the thing that makes me laugh a lot is how the hell is **** going bad in my team?
“When I play with my national team it’s good. Something is wrong - is it me?
“I didn’t play the last six weeks of the league before the end of the season and then I had another three weeks before I went and played with the Belgium team. I was rolling and I was fine. Nobody there complained.”
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