Romelu Lukaku has hit back at the criticism he faced during his time in the Premier League.
Lukaku scored 121 goals in 278 appearances in the Premier League during spells at West Brom, Everton, Manchester United and Chelsea, though faced criticism regarding his overall game.
His periods with Manchester United and Chelsea particularly saw him criticised, as the Belgium international failed to make an impact with the latter after a £97.5m club-record move to West London in 2021.
The 31-year-old returned to Italy to sign for Napoli on a permanent deal in the summer and has hit back at criticism of his game in England.
Lukaku believes he was unfairly targeted during his time in the Premier League and unhelpfully stereotyped as a player due to his build.
“The narrative has always been if someone says something about you and as a footballer you don’t react to it. Everyone runs with it and that’s what happened to me,” Lukaku told Friends of Sports podcast.
“I remember the narratives when I was in England was: ‘He’s lazy, he doesn’t work hard, he’s not a leader, he’s selfish, first touch, he cannot hold a ball, blah blah blah’.
“I played for two years at Inter [Milan]: ‘His back to goal, he’s the best player in the world, he’s top five!’.
“In England, they wanted to put me in a box,” he continued.
“They see someone built like me and think he’s the new Drogba, and because Didier did what he did they think I have to do the same.
“I’m not like that. Didier was more back to goal, he could hold up the ball no matter where you play it in from. That wasn’t my style, bro. Just let me make my run in behind, play me in.”
