Inter Milan legend slammed over Man Utd comments - 'I guess he's still on the payroll'
Inter Milan hero Ivan Cordoba has been criticised for his comments about Romelu Lukaku and Manchester United.
Man Utd and Inter Milan differences discussed by Lukaku
Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has leapt to the defence of Manchester United following recent comments from Inter Milan hero Ivan Cordoba. Former Colombia defender Cordoba has criticised United for the way they handled striker Romelu Lukaku when he was at the club. He claimed the Red Devils "did not understand" Lukaku as a player.
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Lukaku left United to join Inter last summer for a fee of around £73million.
The Belgian had suffered a difficult second season at Old Trafford, where he was often left out of the side or played out of position by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Nicol was one of Lukaku's biggest critics during his time at United and has joked Cordoba is still "on the payroll" at Inter following his comments.
Lukaku has scored 23 goals so far in his debut campaign in Italy but Nicol says the Belgian is now at his level.
"I guess Ivan's still on the payroll at Inter is he? Because that's kind of what it sounds like," Nicol told ESPN FC.
"There's a reason why Lukaku is not at a Barcelona or a Real Madrid or a City or a Liverpool or a PSG and the reason for that is he is not at the highest level.
"Those teams when they knew he was available from Manchester United didn't want anything to do with him and there's a reason for that.
"So I'm sarcastically saying Ivan's still on the payroll at Inter because the guy he's talking about, all the things he's saying, are not a guy who plays... I don't mean this disrespectfully but there's different levels of quality and all these teams and all the players that play for these teams, your Citys, your Liverpools and PSGs and Madrids, they're at a different level.
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"And Inter and Lukaku unfortunately are the tier below. That's just the truth."
Cordoba praised Inter boss Antonio Conte for his impact on Lukaku and said it was a shame United could not get the best out of the forward.
“Lukaku is an extraordinary player,” Cordoba told the Daily Mail.
“Manchester United did not understand the player’s potential and his last season was bad for him.
"In my opinion Lukaku is proving everyone to be a champion.
“He is determined and the Premier League has improved him a lot. I met him: he is a positive leader in the changing rooms.
“It’s a shame that Manchester United sold him, but I’m happy that Inter bought him.
“Antonio Conte has been fundamental to his form at Inter.”
