I’M NOT REAL DEAL YET
£90m Lukaku says he still has a lot to learn
ROMELU LUKAKU has admitted he is “not the complete package” despite costing Manchester United a potential £90m.
But he is determined to win trophies – and says he now has the right manager and club to do that.
Lukaku admits he is a long way off the level of Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski, two men United have been linked with this summer.
But under Jose Mourinho, he believes he can shake off his critics’ “flat-track bully” tag and justify United’s massive investment – £75m down with £15m to come in bonuses.
He said: “I’m 24, so I can’t say I’m the complete package. I can’t say I’m in my prime. There is a lot of work to be done, and I am delighted there is
still work to be done – that means I can become even better than I am.
“I’m far from the level of Ronaldo and Lewandowski. That’s the level I want to aim for. How do I reach that level? Keep improving. There is always room to improve.
“I just want to become the best player I can be. I’ll never say it’s good enough. It’s a pressure I put on myself. When you play for United you have to perform every week.
“For me, it’s all about winning. Now I’m at a club where winning is the most important thing.”
After scoring against Real Salt Lake City in Utah and Manchester City in Houston, Lukaku will be bidding for more goals in United’s final game of their US tour against Barcelona in Washington on Thursday.
The Belgian striker said: “The manager has a masterplan and we are here to follow it. Hopefully it’s going to take us to the top.
“That’s what I came here for, trophies. Manchester United, for me, equals trophies. The biggest club in the world equals trophies.
“Growing up, I’ve seen United win the league every year, almost. You want to be a part of that history.”
Lukaku also revealed that France international Paul Pogba played a big part in him choosing Old Trafford over his former club Chelsea.
The pair have been friends for years, are neighbours in the Manchester area and even holidayed together in Los Angeles this summer.
Lukaku said: “We spent our holiday together and he said, ‘What do you want to do?’ I told him that I was thinking a lot about signing for United, something was telling me to do it.
“I live near Manchester so, whenever I was coming to the city centre, I would drive past Old Trafford and ask my mates what they thought.
“Me and Paul, we’d go to the city to have dinner and he’d drive past Old Trafford on purpose.”