Romelu Lukaku revealed that he considered leaving the Belgian national team after their disappointing exit from the European Championships in Germany last year. 

Lukaku failed to find the back of the net at Euro 2024 as Belgium were knocked out at the round of 16 stage by France. 

The Napoli striker is Belgium's all-time top scorer with 85 goals, while only Eden Hazard (126), Toby Alderweireld (127), Axel Witsel (132) and Jan Vertonghen (157) have made more appearances for the Red Devils than Lukaku. 

He has also been named as the co-captain of the team along with Kevin De Bruyne by new head coach Rudi Garcia, with Lukaku set to lead his team out on Thursday for the first leg of their Nations League play-off against Ukraine in Murcia. 

"I'll be honest, after the defeat against France I was very disappointed," Lukaku said. "I told Jan Vertonghen that I didn't feel any more connection with the national team."

Lukaku sat out Belgium's Nations League matches in September and October, with the Red Devils winning just once in their five games without him in their squad. 

The 31-year-old was persuaded to return to the international stage after a discussion with the Belgian football association's new technical director, Vincent Mannaert.

"He presented me with a new vision. Then I realised that I couldn't stop like that," Lukaku added.

"I had good conversations with the coach (Garcia), after which I was sure that I wanted to bring Belgium back to the top."

Lukaku has been in fine form for Antonio Conte's Napoli this season, registering 18 goal contributions (10 goals, eight assists) in 27 appearances in Serie A this season. 

Indeed, since his first season with a goal in the top five European leagues, only Robert Lewandowski (13) has scored 10 or more goals in more campaigns than Lukaku (12). 

But Lukaku has now gone five games without a goal at international level, with his last strike coming against Luxembourg in a friendly back in June 2024. 

He was an integral part of Belgium's 'Golden Generation' from 2014 to 2022, helping them to a third-placed finish at the 2018 World Cup, though their exit from the same competition four years later saw many believe that their chance of winning an international honour had gone. 

Lukaku, however, wants to put the Red Devils' recent form behind them. 

"The most important thing now is to focus on tomorrow. We want to show our winning mentality on the pitch again," Lukaku added. 

We have to show our supporters that we are proud to wear the shirt."