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“You expect a bit more respect” Manchester United’s £250,000-a-week star defends his goal scoring record

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku takes sly dig at Manchester United.
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku takes sly dig at Manchester United.

Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku feels he deserves “more respect” for his goal-scoring record in the Premier League.

The Belgian arrived at Old Trafford in the summer from Everton for an initial £75m fee but has faced harsh criticism from every corner of the world, including comments from former United defender Gary Neville, for his abysmal record against the bigger teams in the Premier League.

The 24-year-old, who earns £250,000-a-week, scored his 21st goal for United on Sunday in the 2-1 victory over former club Chelsea before providing an assist for substitute Jesse Lingard’s winning header in the second half.

Despite scoring above 20 goals and further supplying 7 assists in his debut season for the club, the striker continues to receive blatant flak.

But the big Belgian silenced his critics in style on Sunday with a Man-of-the-Match performance and believes he still isn’t getting the respect he feels he deserves.

“I just need to keep working hard,” Lukaku was quoted by Sky Sports.

“I think I have got a nice record. I’ve scored a lot this season and I just want to keep going.

“I know that I can improve, and I want to improve and really work hard. I want to win trophies. We are still in the fight in two competitions. It’s not going to be easy but it’s a nice challenge.”

Romelu Lukaku

The 24-year-old, who scored his 98th Premier League goal at the weekend, believes he has already done enough to prove himself.

“Yeah, because I’ve been in the game for so long,” he added.

“I started playing when I was 16. Year in, year out people expect 20 goals from me. I’ve been doing it for 10 years straight, so I think I’ve proved myself.

“You expect a bit more respect but it’s the situation we’re in. I don’t listen to it. I just want to improve and show the people what I can do on the pitch.”

Lukaku is yet to win a single trophy in senior football despite starting his career very early. The former Everton striker is very clear with his ambition of winning trophies this season instead of gathering individual prizes.

“As long as I win, and I lead my team to winning that’s when I will be really satisfied,” he further added.

“As a football player, I don’t play for the individual. I think a lot of big players that we recognise today in the game are players who have won something, and I want to be part of them.

“The road is still far ahead, but I’m ambitious and I’ll work every day for my team to win – I’m not thinking about myself.”

Do you think Lukaku is receiving undue criticism despite his impressive goalscoring record?

Written by Rohan Sengupta

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