Romelu Lukaku Claims He Could Retire From Belgium After Euro 2020
Manchester United and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku has made a shocking claim regarding his future, suggesting that he intends to retire from international duty following Euro 2020.
In an interview with Business Insider, via the Mirror, the former Chelsea man - Belgium's top scorer of all-time - claimed that he's planning to pack it in after the next European Championship, when he will be aged just 27. Lukaku said: "After the Euros, I think I'll stop.
"I'm 25, I'm not even in my prime yet. So I still see them [younger players] as competition right now because they try to take my spot and I don't want to give it up to them. So, like, another two years, and then they can have it."
It is unclear whether Lukaku genuinely intends to retire for international football after the next major tournament, or whether it was merely a throwaway comment. Certainly, Belgium fans will be alarmed by powerful striker's claims, given his great importance to the national team. In the 2018 World Cup, Lukaku netted on four occasions, as his side finished 3rd in the tournament.
With the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on the horizon, at makes little sense for Lukaku to retire from international football at such an early age. The towering forward has an opportunity to keep his name in the record books for years to come, if he keeps adding to the forty goals he's notched up for his country thus far.
