Romelu Lukau is set to rejoin his Manchester United teammates this week after returning from his summer holidays early. The Belgian, who was due three weeks off after reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup with Roberto Martinez’s side, has cut short his leave in order to be better prepared for the start of United’s season.
It’s a vitally important one for Jose Mourinho, with the Portuguese and his side under pressure to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title this season. The manager has been less-than impressed with the lack of transfer signings completed this summer, but Lukaku, who also played under Mourinho at Chelsea, thinks that his public persona differs hugely from the man that he sees in training.
“I get to see a total different image of him where he’s really cool,” said Lukaku to Business Insider. “People need to understand that we play this game not to lose it. We play this game to win, so when you lose, you get angry, you get upset.
“So for him … when he’s upset, he’s a type of person that you can really see that he’s mad or angry. So I think this is normal. This should be embraced because he’s a manager, he’s a coach that wants to win. And if you can’t deal with that, well, you know, don’t ask him questions because he shouldn’t hide this personality to give, like, a good public image.
“We make jokes. He would send me like sometimes good advice, or funny videos, some stuff like that. So he’s really a family guy. That’s how I know him. We have a good relationship. I think it’s nice to play for him.”
It’s comforting to hear that Mourinho isn’t quite as negative with his players as he tends to project publicly, or at least to the press. The manager has come under fire for a particularly combative and unhelpful attitude so far this pre-season, but from Lukaku’s words, the suggestion is that it isn’t affecting his current squad too much at present.
