Romelu Lukaku has defended Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne for his public outburst after Belgium’s defeat to France, insisting it’s up to the new generation of Red Devils to live up to the standards he and others set.
Lukaku has been speaking to The Friends of Sport podcast in Belgium, relayed by Het Laatste Niuews, when the subject of De Bruyne’s outburst was brought up.
The Manchester City star was furious after Belgium’s defeat to France in September, airing his frustrations in public after the game.
He was left angered by his teammates’ performances in the 2-0 loss to France in the Nations League, arguing with assistant coach Franky Vercauteren on the sidelines and even seen mouthing that he was ready to bring his international career to an end.
His comments led to a definitive split in Belgium, where it was either back what the Manchester City star had said or question him.
Lukaku falls in to the former camp and believes the 33-year-old was more than justified in what he had to say.
“Kevin, Thibaut (Courtois) and I always tell the truth. We give a ‘s**t’ about everything and just tell it like it is,” he said.
“Sometimes there are emotions involved, but that’s okay. That shows that you are working on it. If you can’t handle that, then just leave. Then you don’t belong. That’s the thing with this generation: how much do you want it? That is the question I ask them.
“We no longer have the players who play for the biggest clubs. This is no longer the generation of yesteryear. But do the players want to get to that level? Do they want to fight for it? 7
“Then they have to push themselves. If you don’t play for a certain type of team where the pressure is to always win or win titles, and you’re already not the kind of person who pushes yourself, then it’s going to be very difficult when you get to the national team. That is the problem we have.”
