When Romelu Lukaku claims he speaks six different languages, you wonder how many of them he’s fluent in, or if he just knows a few words. Well, at least that’s what Brazilians thought when he said he speaks Portuguese, but it turns out that he really can.
The Manchester United striker has given an interview to ESPN Brasil which aired this weekend. When asked if he could do the entire interview in Portuguese, he denied at first, but then went ahead.
“Now my Portuguese is not very good, because when I was at Chelsea, I talked a lot with David Luiz, Willian, Bosingwa. I do not have a player to talk to now. It’s very difficult to speak Portuguese,” Lukaku told reporter João Castelo Branco.
Lukaku claimed that he loves Brazilian food, as feijoada is his favourite meal, as well as the local ‘rodízio’ barbecue. He was also happy to reveal that he has a lot of guaraná soft drinks at his home.
Speaking of Brazilian people, the Manchester United player talked about one of his childhood idols from the country. And even though most players mention Ronaldo or Ronaldinho, he had a different one in mind.
“I have a good relationship with people from Brazil. And I really like Brazilian players. When I was little, Adriano was my great idol. Because when I was little, I had the same qualities as him.
“Very strong, shooting with the left was the same. I hope he’s going to play again because he’s a good player. For me he’s an idol. I like him a lot.”
Asked about why choosing Manchester United when he had so many clubs after him, Lukaku had a simple answer: “Because before I had a dream of playing for the manager, Jose Mourinho. When I was little, at age of 11, I was at Chelsea. I was talking to my mum and dad that I wanted to play for him, because I really like his personality as a manager.
“He won many titles for Chelsea and Porto and now I’m very happy that I work with him. Because he’s a manager who knows what he needs to do to win the match and with him I learn a lot.”
The striker also analysed his first half season at the club: “First six months I did very well, we won a lot of matches, I scored a lot of goals too. Now it is difficult because City are 15 points away, it’s very difficult.
“For me, I have confidence that if City lose a few matches and we win, the distance is shorter. For me, the league is not finished as long as City don’t have it.”
And after fulfilling his dream of playing for José Mourinho, he was asked what his next goal is: “Next up is to win titles. It’s the ambition of the club, it is my ambition as well, to be a great player in the history of football. And win more titles. This for me is very important, for me it is a child’s dream, and now I will do everything to fulfil this dream.”
