'I had a dream of playing for Jose Mourinho': Romelu Lukaku explains why he signed for Manchester United

Romelu Lukaku has revealed his "dream of playing" for Jose Mourinho was the main reason behind his decision to join Manchester United.

The Belgium international left Everton and completed a £75m ($104.7m) switch to Old Trafford last summer. Prior to his move to United, Chelsea were looking at the option of re-signing their former player, reports the BBC.

United were chasing Alvaro Morata who was then at Real Madrid. The Red Devils' failure to agree to a fee with the Spanish capital club for the striker forced them to quickly complete a deal for Lukaku. The former Juventus star ended up at Stamford Bridge later in the summer transfer window.

Lukaku was at Chelsea when Mourinho was at the west London club. However, he was not the first choice striker and made two substitute appearances under the Portuguese tactician for the Blues.

"Before I had a dream of playing for the manager, Jose Mourinho. When I was little, at age of 11, I was at Chelsea. I was talking to my mum and dad that I wanted to play for him, because I really like his personality as a manager," Lukaku told ESPN Brasil, as relayed by Sport Witness.

"He won many titles for Chelsea and Porto and now I'm very happy that I work with him. Because he's a manager who knows what he needs to do to win the match and with him I learn a lot.

The 24-year-old is now a starter for Mourinho's side and scored 20 goals in all competitions so far this term. Lukaku has made 25 starts in the league and has missed only one match due to injury.

Despite the striker and United's impressive form in the league, they are second in the table with 56 points after 26 games, trailing leaders Manchester City by 13 points. Lukaku claims the title race is not over unless and until Pep Guardiola's side have mathematically won the league.

"First six months I did very well, we won a lot of matches, I scored a lot of goals too. Now it is difficult because City are 15 points away, it's very difficult," the former Everton star stressed.

"For me, I have confidence that if City lose a few matches and we win, the distance is shorter. For me, the league is not finished as long as City don't have it."