Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea share a bitter and sparkling history, with the former complaining to be treated unfavorably by Chelsea’s then-manager Thomas Tuchel upon his arrival from Inter Milan in the 2021-22 season.
A year today, Lukaku ruined his Chelsea career 🤡 pic.twitter.com/hZ2P1EaOF5
— Joe (@JoeBambrough) December 30, 2022
Thanks to the misery he added after an interview with Sky Sports Italia back in 2021 that didn’t go well, neither to the hierarchy nor the manager Thomas Tuchel. Lukaku received a lot of criticism and later turned into a villain to his own fans.
What infuriated the London supporters the most was the way Lukaku addressed their favorite team and one of their most beloved managers. Lukaku insisted that “Inter Milan” is his home despite having previously mentioned Chelsea as being his home and claiming that the Thomas Tuchel system was failing him and the team.
What a difference under a year can make…
August 2020- Chelsea set a new club record of most goals conceded in a Champions League campaign—16 Goals in 8 Matches.
May 2021- Chelsea set a new record for the least goals conceded in a UCL campaign—4 Goals in 13 matches.
🤯#CFC pic.twitter.com/W8HSauPwGZ
— CFCDaily (@CFCDaily) June 6, 2021
Questioning the manager’s methods after Chelsea was crowned UCL champions was so audacious and later proved to be such an embarrassment to the man on whom Chelsea spent $110 million.
Because of Lukaku’s contradictory behavior, Thomas Tuchel later kicked him off the team for destroying the atmosphere in the locker room.
Tuchel on Romelu Lukaku out: “The thing got too big, too noisy, so close to the match, so I decided to protect the preparation for the match”, he told @SkySports. 🔵 #CFC
“Of course we have spoken, twice to the main players – but after that we had to realise it’s too big”. pic.twitter.com/qm3AJnDjPS
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 2, 2022
“Yes, I think we should all be honest that it was disappointing, but also for myself, from my term of performance. I am far away from pointing the finger at Romelu, but he is disappointed, I was disappointed.”- Tuchel said earlier on Lukaku.
Now that Chelsea has concluded the Tuchel series, the club’s new owner, Todd Boehly, is eager to restore the striker from the Italian side after a lengthy conversation with Tuchel, during which Lukaku stated, “he told Tuchel nothing but the truth.”
Lukaku: “Todd Boehly decided to let me leave after I told him the truth about my relationship with Tuchel.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/E7kfnDsho5
— 𝙔𝙏𝘽 🎙 (@YTBoxingShow_) January 1, 2023
“A few days after the Nations League match against the Netherlands, I spoke to the new owner of Chelsea. It was a great chat in which I told him the whole truth, my version of what had happened and my relationship with Tuchel at that moment there.”- Lukaku said.
“Then I decided to return to Inter, I had the opportunity, and he opened the door for me. I started talking to the club and from that moment things went really fast. We talked for two weeks intensely then I left all the last details to my lawyer.”- he further added.
Tactically a good Inter approach where Inter frustrated Lazio and pinned them back.
But too many individual mistakes 🫤– Lautaro too wasteful
– Lukaku struggles to get involved
– Barella needed to be more direct in his passing
– Dumfries still missing the final pass/cross. https://t.co/jQ1bC6RAd4— Martin Milton Nielsen (@MiltonInter3) August 26, 2022
Lukaku is currently struggling in Italian Seria A, scoring only once in four appearances since his loan transfer. Notably, he scored only 11 goals in 26 games for Chelsea after missing so many clear opportunities to score. Staggering!
As it appears, the American owner would love to have Lukaku back at Chelsea, but it is questionable how much the Belgian could contribute to the current squad, as he is neither in good form with Inter nor has ever excelled for Chelsea if we remove his big mouth. Will he shine under Potter? Comment on your estimation, which we will properly assess.
