Conte Disappointed With Lukaku After Napoli Win Over Cremonese

Napoli manager, Antonio Conte, has voiced frustration with striker Romelu Lukaku after the forward failed to report for training and allegedly visited the club’s training ground without greeting him.

Conte spoke after Napoli’s 4-0 win over Cremonese in Serie A on Friday, April 24.

The club is weighing disciplinary and possible legal action after Lukaku skipped training earlier this week. The Belgian spent the international break in his home country while recovering from injury before returning to Italy for talks with club directors.

Speaking to DAZN, Conte admitted he was surprised by the striker’s conduct.

“I’m disappointed by Romelu Lukaku. He didn’t even come to say hi to me. I didn’t speak to Romelu,” he said.

“He was there, close to my office, and we didn’t talk. I was not expecting this situation.”

The Italian coach later expanded on the incident, revealing that Lukaku had been at the training ground but never knocked on his door despite meeting club officials.

“I know one of our directors spoke to him, he came to the training ground, my office was right there… but nobody knocked on the door – and that really disappointed me because I would have expected a greeting, a message or something. In these situations, the coach tries to understand everyone, but no one makes the effort to understand the coach,” the Italian tactician said.

Lukaku has struggled with a persistent hamstring problem since August and has managed only seven appearances this season, with his last outing coming in early March. He is now training intensely in a bid to regain full fitness before the campaign ends.

With his contract at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona running until the end of next season, the 32-year-old faces a race to rebuild his relationship with the manager and revive his chances of returning to the Belgium national team ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.