Romelu Lukaku has opened up on the real Jose Mourinho, launching a defence of his manager after the Manchester United boss came under criticism in recent weeks. Mourinho’s pre-season demeanour has been the subject of much conversation, following his public outbursts and spats with select players, most prominently Anthony Martial.
Lukaku however insists Mourinho has a different side which he uses with his players, which goes unseen by the media and general public.
The Belgium international has pointed to Mourinho’s mentality as a natural born winner as the root of the abrasive character often seen by the masses.
‘When you lose, you get angry. When he is upset, he’s the type of person that you can really see it,’ Lukaku said in an interview with Business Insider.
‘But that should be embraced because he is a manger and a coach that wants to win.
‘If you can’t deal with that, don’t ask him questions because he shouldn’t hide his personality to give a good public image.’
Many people believed Lukaku may not have the best relationship with Mourinho, after the Portuguese afforded him few opportunities at previous club Chelsea, before sanctioning his sale to Everton after a series of loans.
Mourinho re-signed Lukaku last summer to make him United’s second most expensive player ever, behind midfielder Paul Pogba.
But the bond between player and manager has always been strong, as Lukaku admits the pair are regularly in contact and joke around outside of working hours.
‘It is nice to play for him. I get to see a total different image of him where he’s really cool,’ Lukaku added. ‘We make jokes. He sends me good advice, or funny videos, some stuff like that. So he’s really a family guy. That’s how I know him.’
Lukaku is soon due to report back to the United set-up after being granted extended holiday following Belgium’s third-placed finish at the Russia World Cup.
Mourinho is likely to use his £75million man in the Premier League opener against Leicester on Friday, August 10, despite his absence from the majority of pre-season.
Lukaku enjoyed the final stages of his post-World Cup break by spending time with music superstars and fellow Roc Nation duo Jay-Z and DJ Khaled after a show in the United States.
The Manchester United striker met the pair backstage on Thursday evening at the latest instalment of Jay-Z and Beyonce’s ‘On the Run II Tour’ at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Lukaku took to social media to post a video of himself embracing Jay-Z with the message ‘dreams come true’, while a picture alongside DJ Khaled was captioned: ‘This guy spreads only positivity. Nothing but more blessings to you.’
Anthony Martial, who has been at loggerheads with Mourinho, has returned for Manchester United’s pre-season preparations after walking out of their tour of the US to be at the birth of his baby boy.
The Frenchman has not been seen for more than a week but rolled up to United’s Carrington facilities in his Range Rover on Friday morning to report for training.
Martial left United’s LA base to be with his pregnant partner Melanie Da Cruz last week, against Jose Mourinho’s wishes and friction between the pair has since intensified.
The United boss publicly criticised the Frenchman for his failure to return to their US tour after attending the birth of his son in Paris.
‘He has the baby and after the baby is born – beautiful baby, full of health, thank God – he should be here and he is not here,’ Mourinho said.
The player hit back at his boss on Wednesday by tweeting: ‘Thank you all for your posts. My little Swan is fine, for the mom it was harder but thanks to God she’s better now.
‘Sorry but my family will always come first… Back tomorrow in Manchester.’