Belgium star reveals poor upbringing

Romelu Lukaku has said that he was willing to open up about the poverty of his upbringing because he wanted to inspire a new generation of poor children of African descent growing up in Europe.  The Manchester United striker’s story was featured in the Players’ Tribune last week and he spoke about the fact that often his mother had to water down the milk because the family didn’t have enough money to last until the end of the week.

Lukaku, who was born in Antwerp after his parents emigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo and whose father, Roger, played for Zaire, as it was then named, also revealed that the bakery in the neighbourhood he grew up would ‘loan’ them bread to tide them over. Lukaku said: ‘At the end of the day it is about inspiring people. You want to inspire the young generation.

‘There are a lot of kids from African descent across Europe, their parents came to Europe for a better life but they grew up in difficult circumstances so they do whatever they have to do to help their parents. I’m talking for those kids and also talking for other kids all over the world that look at me and try to know how I became I am the man I am today.

‘[Telling my story] was something I had never done before. The way I grew up, people don’t know the details. For me it was difficult at the start to do it but now people know that for me, my back was against the wall from the start. From my youngest memory I’ve always had my back against the wall. ‘So, I play this game of football because I have a mission. I made a promise. I love the game and when you make your passion your job and you have a job to make sure your family is okay at that end, it is the best thing ever.

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