- Lukaku, 31, claims a match in 2022 left him physically and mentally ‘broken’
- The striker avoided football for weeks after the match to heal himself
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Romelu Lukaku has revealed the time in his life when football destroyed him and left him crying every day.
The 31-year-old has had a fruitful start to life at Napoli after joining permanently from Chelsea this summer.
However, prior to the move, the forward endured a difficult few years in the sport as he was sent out on several loans with the Blues.
His form also had an impact on him at international level and while playing for Belgium at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Lukaku missed three golden chances in a must-win group match against Croatia.
The misses meant Belgium could only draw 0-0 and were ultimately dumped from the World Cup before the knockout stages.
Romelu Lukaku has revealed that a match against Croatia in the 2022 World Cup broke him
The attacker missed three big chances as Belgium crashed out of the tournament
The forward came into the fray at half-time as Belgium teetered on the brink of a shock group stage elimination.
Lukaku had two excellent chances to break the deadlock on the hour mark, but to the surprise of many, turned away both.
In the final moments of the match, Lukaku had the opportunity to make amends for his earlier mistakes when the ball fell to him in the six-yard box, but again he failed to convert.
After the match, Lukaku was criticized by both fans and the media. However, the striker has now shown that the missed opportunities themselves had the biggest impact on his mental health.
“So we played Croatia and it was 0-0 and I said, ‘There is hope,’” Lukaku told the Friends of Sports podcast. ‘Then I’ll continue and you’ll know how the match went. I missed four clear chances. God has decided it this way, no problem.
“But the aftermath of it all started when I hit the dugout window, and that’s when all my frustrations came out.
‘I’ve been playing football for 23 years and this is the first time it happened to me like this. The very first time.
‘I never thought about depression, but I swear I went away, went on holiday and cried every day for a week. Physically and mentally I was broken.’
Lukaku failed to break the deadlock in the 90th minute, leading to criticism from fans
Lukaku recalls that the match was the first time he had ever shown such frustration in public
The ordeal left Lukaku’s mental health in tatters. In the weeks that followed, he avoided the sport he loved as much as possible.
The forward has since revealed that former Belgian assistant coach Thierry Henry made sure he had support during what was a difficult time for him.
‘I have to give a big shout out to Thierry Henry. He called me every day three times a day asking, ‘Is everything okay? How are you doing mentally?’ Because he knows what it’s like.
‘He’s just like me, he breathes football, he knows everything. He watches all the games and he knows I’m a football addict.
‘From then until the final I didn’t watch any more World Cup matches, I cried every day.’
Before the Belgian match against Croatia, almost two years ago, there were doubts as to whether Lukaku would feature at all.
The striker missed the first two group matches against Canada and Morocco through injury, but returned due to his desire to keep Belgium in the tournament.
‘We had three days to prepare for the match against Croatia, so my first official training was the day after the match against Morocco.
Former Belgium coach Thierry Henry consoled Lukaku during a difficult time in his career
‘I also trained two days before the match against Croatia, it was my first training in three months.
‘I knew I would win, lose or draw. The manager needed me, the team needed me and Belgium needed me.’