Slovakia Captain Praises Belgium Star: ‘We Were Teammates At Inter Milan For Three Years, He Has Enormous Quality’

Former Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar is expecting a tough duel with his old teammate Romelu Lukaku at EURO 2024.

The Slovakia captain spoke to SportAktuality, via FCInter1908, prior to today’s EURO 2024 opener.

This evening, Slovakia take on Belgium in their first group stage match of the Euros.

And this evening’s match will pit two players who are very familiar with one another head-to-head.

Defender Skriniar spent six seasons as an Inter player. Three of those, he shared with Lukaku.

Therefore, the 28-year-old is very familiar with the Belgian from marking him in training for years.

Skriniar and Lukaku both left Inter last summer. Both were at the centre of transfer soap operas that did not exactly go down well with Inter fans.

The Slovak international joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer after rejecting a contract extension offer from Inter.

Meanwhile, Lukaku had spent the season back on loan at Inter from Chelsea. Inter had tried to sign the Belgian on a permanent deal, but pulled the plug upon learning he’d been negotiating with Juventus.

Milan Skriniar: “Romelu Lukaku Has Enormous Quality”

Besides their respective transfer sagas, another thing that Skriniar and Lukaku have in common is that they both showed a very high level of quality at Inter.

Skriniar is a rugged and physical defender with great man-marking ability. And Lukaku is an explosive striker who can given any defender a very difficult evening.

Skriniar noted that he and Lukaku “Exchanged a few messages a few days ago.”

“He’s looking forward to it as much as I am,” the PSG defender continued.

“I’ll have many duels against him,” Skriniar anticipated.

The 28-year-old said that Lukaku “Is still a player with enormous quality.”

“It’s hard to say whether injuries have had an effect on him. I don’t think so. On the contrary, I expect him to be in top form.”