Lukaku branded ‘ungrateful’ after ‘disappointing’ Conte as Napoli surrender Scudetto
Updated: 3 May 2026 10:37 BST |
5 min read
Former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has been branded “ungrateful” after causing a rift with Napoli manager Antonio Conte, who was previously like a mentor to him.
Nobody knew it at the time, but the Belgium international likely played his final game for Napoli when he briefly featured off the bench against Torino in early March.
It was just his seventh appearance of the season because he had suffered a devastating hamstring injury in pre-season and was sidelined until January.
Lukaku’s injury prompted Napoli to spend big on Man Utd outcast Rasmus Hojlund, who looks set to be the club’s starting striker for the foreseeable future. His loan deal from the Red Devils will become permanent this summer.
In that sense, Lukaku has become surplus to requirements. But the fact that the ageing striker will probably never play for Napoli again has nothing to do with Hojlund. It is due to his own stubbornness.
Lukaku slammed for Conte falling-out
Lukaku decided to use the last international break to travel to Belgium for private treatment on a hip problem. This is nothing out of the ordinary, but, for some reason, he elected to simply ignore Napoli when they urged him to return to Italy and get treated at the club.
He probably saw little sense in flying back to Naples, given that he wasn’t able to play anyway, but in doing so, he disregarded the fact that he is an employee of the club and can’t just do what he wants.
Napoli repeatedly ordered him to return, but he only came back after the situation had escalated to the point where the club fined him and made public statements threatening him with more disciplinary action.
During his self-imposed exile, Lukaku wrote on social media that “I could never turn my back on Napoli, never,” yet he reportedly only communicated with club officials via his agent and refused any direct contact.
As a result, he was axed from the squad when he did finally return. The situation was far from resolved, however. Even Napoli manager Antonio Conte, his biggest supporter and mentor, has turned against him.
He recently revealed that the 32-year-old’s antics “disappointed” him. Conte appears to have taken it personally that Lukaku ignored him and the club. “I didn’t speak to him. I know someone spoke to him, they came to the training centre, but I didn’t speak to him directly,” he said.
“My office was right there, and no one came knocking on my door. I’m disappointed. I was expecting something, even just a message. In these situations, we try to understand all the players, but no one makes the effort to understand the coach.”
Conte has been almost like a footballing father for Lukaku. Having formed a close relationship with him during their time at Inter, the manager convinced Napoli to sign the Belgian despite his flagging career.
Reunited, the pair immediately won the Scudetto in 2024/25, with Lukaku scoring 14 goals in 36 games. The two, both visibly emotional, hugged for what seemed like a minute or more after the championship was confirmed.
The scene was made all the more memorable because, by hugging Lukaku, Conte was trying to avoid having to interact with nearby Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis because there was simmering tension between the two despite the on-pitch success.
Fast forward 12 months, and the situation could hardly look more different. Conte has been betrayed by his close friend – or at least he seems to think so – and their paths will likely separate this summer.
This doesn’t sit well with journalist Massimo Brambati, who has branded Lukaku “ungrateful” for breaking with Conte despite everything the manager has done for his career.
“There’s no gratitude in football,” Brambati said. “Lukaku owes a lot to Conte. He wanted him at Napoli after a season with ups and downs at Roma, but above all, he relaunched him at Inter, allowing him to then secure a significant contract at Chelsea.”
He finished with this dig: “At Inter, they told me that Lukaku wasn’t always impeccable in managing his diet, so Conte was crucial to his development.”
In the grand scheme of things, though, this episode is not what has defined Napoli’s disappointing campaign. It was his injuries that, as Brambati points out, “marked Napoli’s season.” Without their focal point, they struggled.
Even if he had not gone AWOL, Lukaku would not have been able to help the Serie A giants, and he would probably have left the club after this season anyway. He essentially ruined his relationship with Conte for no real reason.
On Saturday, any tentative hope Napoli still had of beating Inter to the Scudetto evaporated when they only mustered a scoreless draw with Como. Today, the Nerazzurri can officially clinch the title with a draw against Parma.
Related stories:
Exclusive: Marcus Rashford tipped to return to Man Utd
Chelsea Transfer News Today: €60m ‘war’ as Endrick decision confirmed
Transfer Rumours: Big Jackson update as Man Utd ‘move in the shadows’ for €50m striker
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
•Google Play
•App Store
Tom Weber is a multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.
View full bio
