30 year old Belgian international striker Romelu Lukaku has had quite an interesting last few years to his professional playing career, as having seriously impressed at Everton, Manchester United were tempted into paying a cool £75 million for his services in the summer of 2017.
His spell at Old Trafford was mixed to say the least, but his games to goals ratio was pretty impressive in fairness, but it seemed he just did not fit, and Inter Milan paid a reported £74 million for him just two years later, and his form exploded.
In 65 Serie A starts (and seven substitute appearances), he returned 47 goals and was just as prolific in other competitions for them across what became yet another two year spell, before he moved on again.
His next destination was former club Chelsea, who forked out £97.5 million, but again his face did not fit, his performances did not seem to excite their succession of managers, and even though his record shows 29 starts, and 14 substitute appearances, where he returned 14 goals, he was back with Inter on a loan spell for the 2022/23 season.
His face still did not fit under new manager Mauricio Pochettino when he returned this summer, and he has since reunited with Jose Mourinho at A Roma and seven starts later, he has already scored seven goals.
With the October international break now in play, Lukaku recently started to lift the lid on what was, in particular, a nightmare summer for him, although he kept real details close to his heart.
“Most people in this room know me. You know that I don’t like to beat around the bush. I will speak when the time is right, but if I told you how things really went last summer, everyone would be shocked. There were moments when I felt like I could explode and five years ago I probably would’ve done. Now I am concentrated only on what I can do best, which is playing football. I worked hard all summer.”
Many will think he is simply holding off until he leaves Chelsea, as there are reports that Roma are planning to activate a £37 million release fee he has on his contract, but it sounds like he also fell out with Inter and that could explain why he rejected a permanent deal with them, and chased rivals Juventus instead.
“I was a bit uncomfortable after the Champions League final. But my mind was troubled because of what happened in the days leading up to it. I will talk about that later.”
Despite his many critics, there will be those in the wider world of football who want to know the details.
