In all fairness, if there is any player from the last 20 years who would be qualified to comment on being professional then Gary Neville is up there. He’s widely acknowledged as making the most of minimal talent due to his devout professionalism and excellent attitude.
Romelu Lukaku has been speaking to the BBC about various matters but one thing his was keen to dispel was Neville’s criticism over his weight and lack of professionalism at Old Trafford.
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This was the original tweet from Neville which seems to have upset the Belgian star:
Andy he admitted he was overweight ! He is over 100kg! He’s a Manchester United player!
He will score goals and do well at Inter Milan but unprofessionalism is contagious ? ! ?
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) August 8, 2019
Lukaku took the chance to explain how wrong Neville was with his criticism. He said: “He (Neville) can talk about my fitness but he should never say anything about my professionalism, that I don’t work hard enough. That is something he cannot say. All the coaches I have had say the same thing about me.”
He went on to say: “What did Ole Gunnar Solskjaer say when I was on the training ground? What did he say? That I always work hard and always do my best to try and improve myself. Same with Jose Mourinho and Roberto Martinez. Now Antonio Conte will say it.”
Lukaku was poor last season and he did look fairly lethargic at times. His lack of movement and poor touch were evident as he only managed 12 Premier League goals but it’s clear he doesn’t put that down to a lack of effort or professionalism.
He enjoyed a scoring start to his Inter Milan career and it’s possible that his move could be good for both parties. He will get the chance to re-establish himself as one of the worlds best strikers and it allows Solskjaer to change the way Man United attack to take more advantage of their pace and movement.