Lukaku Inspired to Reaffirm Commitment to Belgium Under New Coach Garcia’s Vision

Belgium’s all-time leading scorer, Romelu Lukaku, has revealed that he contemplated retiring from the national team following last year’s underwhelming European Championship. However, after being inspired by the vision shared by the team’s new management, he is eager to continue contributing.

At 31 years of age, Lukaku has been appointed co-captain alongside Kevin De Bruyne by the new head coach, Rudi Garcia. He will don the captain’s armband on Thursday as Belgium faces Ukraine in the first leg of their Nations League playoff in Murcia, Spain.

“To be frank, after the defeat against France, I was really disheartened. I confided in Jan Vertonghen that I just didn’t feel a connection with the national team anymore,” Lukaku stated, reflecting on a challenging 2024 for Belgium.

The Belgian team suffered a disappointing exit in the last 16 against France at Euro 2024 in Germany and subsequently failed to secure a top-two finish in their Nations League group.

“There were numerous aspects from the Euros that I struggled to come to terms with, including the atmosphere within the squad. I’ll share more about that another time,” he disclosed during a press conference.

Lukaku, who missed the Nations League matches in September and October, was encouraged to continue his international career following discussions with the Belgian Football Association’s new technical director, Vincent Mannaert.

“He outlined a fresh vision for the team, and it became clear to me that I couldn’t walk away just like that. I had meaningful conversations with the coach (Garcia), and that reinforced my desire to help put Belgium back among the elite,” he explained.

Having scored 85 goals in 120 appearances since making his national team debut at the age of 16 back in 2010, Lukaku is keen not to dwell on Belgium’s disappointing performance last year.

“The priority now is to concentrate on the future. We aim to reignite our winning mentality on the pitch. It’s essential to show our fans that we take pride in wearing the national shirt,” he added.