Radja Nainggolan admits Romelu Lukaku’s mentality has changed: ‘He only thinks about football now, I’ve never done that.’
Nainggolan and Lukaku only played a few games together at Inter before the Belgian was loaned out to Cagliari.
They know each other really well, having also played with Belgium national team.
“If you ask him, he will tell you that he is Belgian. However, he also feels foreign. He speaks so many languages and he can adapt everywhere he goes,” Nainggolan told Sky Sport Italia.
“He is such a nice guy, we played together with the national team, but he has changed. He was a playful guy, now he only thinks about football.
“His mentality has changed, it’s something that perhaps I’ve never done.”
The 33-year-old also spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport about tonight’s UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-final tie between Italy and Belgium.
“Italy have evolved, they always try to build up from the back, I like their midfielder: Jorginho, Verratti, Locatelli and Barella,” he said.
“I don’t like criticism towards Nicolò, how can you say he is dropping? He’s played 50 games at a high level this season.”