Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea

Romelu Lukaku’s interview – the fallout, the meetings with Tuchel, the future

Simon Johnson, David Ornstein and more
Jan 3, 2022

It is the story which has dominated Chelsea over recent days: what exactly is going on with Romelu Lukaku?

Just five months after arriving from Inter Milan for a club record £97.5 million. Lukaku was dropped from the squad against Liverpool after giving an interview to Sky Italia which seemed to criticise Thomas Tuchel’s tactics as well as saying he wants a return to Inter Milan while he is still in his prime.

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Tuchel met with Lukaku to discuss the predicament further on Monday with the Belgian apologising privately and then publicly for his words and the timing of them. Lukaku is back in the squad now but it is unclear whether this is the end of an ugly episode or just someone hitting the pause button on some tension that could yet have major consequences for Chelsea’s season.

The dispute escalated quickly from the moment Lukaku’s first quotes emerged on Thursday evening. Tuchel did his best to downplay it all during a press conference on Friday morning, but he wasn’t happy.

Lukaku at training on Friday with Chelsea (Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

However, it should be pointed out that in his media duties after the 2-2 draw with Liverpool, Tuchel insisted he was not “personally angry” with Lukaku. He added: “It is not the worst thing in the world. It is not the first time an interview causes some noise that nobody needs but we can handle it, I don’t feel personally attacked.”

Understandably and inevitably it is a subject the players have been discussed a lot ever since the interview came out. One source claims that like the hierarchy and Tuchel, none of the players saw this coming or had an indication Lukaku was unhappy at Stamford Bridge.

Another feels that the timing of the interview is significant. Some of the players feel that Lukaku is looking for a move. As far as they’re concerned, why speak like this just ahead of the transfer window opening?

Everyone has had an opinion on what Lukaku has done, but it appears there was little support for the striker’s actions in the dressing room. As one source explained to The Athletic: “I was speaking to one of the players and asked him if anyone was sticking up for Lukaku. He said no. None of them can believe he’s done it.”

Noticeably Tuchel appears to have the backing of the squad for how he dealt with Lukaku. He decided to confer with five or six senior players before making a final decision to omit Lukaku from the Liverpool game. It is believed that Jorginho, Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger were among those consulted.

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Asked why he felt the need to discuss it with squad members, he replied: “I don’t take decisions in the office or around my thoughts. I take decisions for the team and I listen to them. I hear their opinion, what they think and then I make my decisions once I hear them out. It is their club, their team and it is not a personal thing from me to decide only on my thoughts.

“We have a squad who we protect, which is strong in belief and behaviours. We want a clearer understanding of the situation and take a decision on a bigger foundation.”

Tuchel admitted he didn’t know where Lukaku was during the Liverpool fixture, at the ground or not. He was not sat behind the dugout which is the normal place for players who aren’t involved to watch a game.

This is not what was expected when Lukaku was bought by Chelsea for a second time in the summer. Instead of leading a title bid, his popularity among supporters has diminished markedly.

Lukaku was a very popular figure at Inter Milan and he made no secret of wanting to stay there before Chelsea made their attempt to sign him in the summer. Some people close to Lukaku advised him not to make the move back to west London in the first place and it is understood he has struggled to settle off the pitch, as well as having problems performing on it.

Here is what has happened and why.


What did Lukaku say in the interview?

He swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, placing his hand on his heart.

Naturally much of the attention in England fell on his comments about Chelsea. As such it is important to consider the timing of the interview. Lukaku welcomed Sky Italia into his home three weeks ago and so the comments causing the most consternation are not fresh.

“I’m not happy with the situation and that’s only natural,” Lukaku said. “The head coach has decided to play a different system and I mustn’t let up. I need to keep working hard and be professional. I’m not happy with the situation but I am a grafter and I mustn’t let up. I think the coach can get me playing more but I have to respect the choices he makes. All I have to do is keep working and wait for my moment.”

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The focus of Lukaku’s interview with Sky Italia wasn’t supposed to be Chelsea. The purpose behind it was to apologise to Inter Milan fans for the way he left in the summer. Other than a short Instagram post in August, he had not reflected on a move that “saved his career” or explained why he left in any detail. He wanted Inter supporters to know the club will always be in his heart. The name of the 30-minute broadcast “Inter, sorry if I call you love” was even inspired by Federico Moccia’s bestselling romantic novels which are responsible for all those padlocks that star-crossed lovers attach to the rails of bridges, tossing the keys into the river below as a gesture of eternal love.

Lukaku spoke of his love for Inter mainly in the interview

How Lukaku and Inter broke up is still quite raw just as it was for Conte when he left the club in May. After reaching the 2019-20 Europa League final and then winning the league for the first time in more than a decade in 2020-21, Inter had something special going on and the team had become very close.

Conte and Lukaku were the symbols of it, with fans dedicating murals to the Belgian striker outside San Siro and in other locations in Milan. Respect and appreciation for him went beyond the Inter fanbase. He was recognised as the MVP of Serie A and treated like one of the undisputed gods of the game in a way only Italy knows how. No matter where he went after Inter, the decision to leave would always have been deeply emotional.

How he left — particularly after reassuring Inter fans he would stay while on international duty with Belgium at the Euros — has clearly weighed on Lukaku. “I think that everything that happened shouldn’t have happened the way it did,” he said. “How I left Inter, how I communicated with the fans. This bothers me because it’s not the right time now but it wasn’t the right time when I left either. Now I think it’s right to talk because I have always said I have Inter in my heart. I’ll go back and play there, I really hope so. I am in love with Italy. This is the right time to talk and let the people know what really happened without talking bad about people because I’m not like that.”

Lukaku’s intention was simple. “First of all, I want to apologise to the Inter fans because I think the way I left should have been different. I should have spoken to you earlier because the things you did for me, for my family, for my mother, for my son, are things that will stay with me for the rest of my life.” For the first time, Lukaku revealed he had asked Inter for an extension. “Because I’m 28, my family was happy in Milan and I had (I still have) a flat in Milan. I said to myself: next year my son will come and live here. And my mother too. We’ll live all together in Milan. We’ll be happy.”

Given Lukaku was still under contract until 2024, Inter — then under significant financial strain — did not come back with an offer. They were seeking emergency financing which would arrive in the form of a loan from US investment fund Oaktree Capital Management but the club still needed to scale back and transition to a more sustainable model.

Offering his own explanation of Lukaku’s sale, the player’s agent Federico Pastorello said in a statement of his own in August: “With regards to FC Internazionale, I can guarantee that the sport CEO Giuseppe Marotta, the sporting director Piero Ausilio — as well as the coach Simone Inzaghi, who worked at this personally — did everything in their power to avoid this transfer. But there are circumstances that go beyond their decision-making range and depend on the instructions of the owners.” That Inter didn’t make him an offer hurt Lukaku, who still follows the team and tunes in for every game. “Always. Always. Always. Always. Always. I watch all of them. When Inter touches your heart, it’s different. It’s different.”

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Lukaku celebrates scoring for Inter against AC Milan (Photo: Mattia Ozbot/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Conte leaving was not a factor in his own decision to move. “No,” Lukaku said. “The only reason was the extension. I knew that if Simone Inzaghi were to become our coach we would have still had a chance to win. So it wasn’t because Conte left. I think if they had offered me a contract extension, you and me would not be talking in London right now, but in Milan.”

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Lukaku reiterated his desire to return in the future. “I hope from the bottom of my heart that I can one day go back to Inter — not right at the end of my career but when I’m still at a good level so we can hopefully win more (trophies).” The timescale was ambiguous. Asked about a prospective reunion with his former striker partner Lautaro Martinez, perhaps even at Chelsea, Lukaku said: “No, stay there. I will come back.”

Does he have a point about not being used properly?

Prior to taking over at Tottenham, Conte expressed more or less the same opinion in his capacity as pundit during Sky Italia’s Champions League coverage in September. As he saw it, Chelsea were still not getting the most out of Lukaku. “Let me tell you why he’s so good,” Conte said. “He’s a threat in the penalty area and you have to try and keep him away from it. But he’s also able to come into midfield and unleash his speed: he can be a focal point in the box but also break from midfield with his pace and quality. He’s also great at laying on assists.” Lukaku set up 11 league goals for Inter in Serie A last season, more than any of his team-mates, and was likened to a quarterback by Conte’s staff.

“The only other player I see with this skill set,” Conte said, “is (Erling) Haaland. That’s why I followed (Lukaku) for such a long time. I asked Chelsea to sign him and Juve too back when he was at West Brom. His team-mates need to figure out how to get service into him. Compared with last year they now have a focal point in Lukaku and have to adapt. When that happens, Chelsea will become one of the favourites to win the Champions League.”

Since Lukaku’s interview and his return from a combination of injury and COVID-19 it is evident that Chelsea’s record signing and Tuchel have worked at better understanding what one wants from the other. Lukaku’s devastating cameo against Aston Villa was a case in point with his run for the penalty exemplifying the kind of situations Conte used to set up for him.

Afterwards he told ESPN Brasil: “Me and the coach, we had a couple of conversations about whatever he wanted from me. Obviously, I told him I’m multi-dimensional. It’s just about having a bit of clarity about how he wants to use me. And whatever he wants from me.“

How did Tuchel respond initially to the interview? 

Pretty directly.

“We don’t like it,” said the Chelsea boss at a press conference on New Year’s Eve. “It brings noise that we don’t need and it’s not helpful.”

He wouldn’t be drawn on some of the more nuanced lines from Lukaku’s interview, such as suggesting Chelsea’s system of play might not be suiting him, with Tuchel suggesting some of the lines from the interview may have been mistranslated and misinterpreted.

Tuchel was surprised that Lukaku was unhappy (Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)

“We don’t want to make more out of it than it actually is. It’s very easy to take lines out of context, it’s very easy to shorten lines, make headlines, and later realise that it’s not bad, it’s not what you meant.”

One word Tuchel used multiple times is “surprise” — he says nobody at the club saw this coming and he saw no problems with Lukaku’s attitude in training.

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“I don’t see him unhappy. I feel the exact opposite if you ask me yesterday morning.”

Pushed on whether Chelsea’s poor run of form makes the situation worse, Tuchel admitted that “everything is easier” when things are going well on the pitch, but said the interview would have attracted “noise” regardless of recent results.

“You cannot win enough to not talk about these headlines in the media,” he said. “He’s an experienced player and he surely knows what kind of value it has when he speaks out messages like this.”

Were Chelsea expecting the interview? 

Not in the slightest. This rather bypassed the standard interview process implemented at the club, where players are allocated to rights holders or specific media outlets on request and, generally, at set times around games. Usually with a member of the club’s press office present, with the whole process unauthorised. Indeed, the club found out when everyone else did, when Sky Sports Italy released their teaser via Twitter and an online story posted on Thursday evening. Furthermore, that had had no inkling that Lukaku was in any way unhappy.

Chelsea’s initial reaction was essentially one of shock and confusion, prompting an immediate inquest to determine when the interview had been held — to offer some kind of context to the comments — and why it had been arranged in the first place. However, once they had made their enquiries, that surprise quickly gave way to intense disappointment to the extent that internal disciplinary action has not been ruled out.

Lukaku celebrates scoring against Brighton (Photo: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)

Chelsea were still licking their wounds at Brighton’s stoppage-time equaliser at Stamford Bridge the previous evening, a draw which saw them slip well behind Manchester City in the title race after shedding nine points over an injury and COVID-19 disrupted December, so Lukaku’s comments — whether they were misinterpreted or misconstrued or not — were the last thing they needed. Tuchel, experiencing the first prolonged difficult period of his tenure, would have been hoping for a show of unity, particularly from his senior players. The release of this interview, with the team labouring, seemed to undermine that.

Tuchel has made such a point of praising Lukaku’s impact off the pitch since he returned to the club. He has spoken of the player’s “big personality”, how he helps set the standard down at Cobham, and singled out his leadership qualities as someone from whom the younger members of the squad can draw inspiration. In that context, the depth of his own disappointment at the release of an “unhelpful” interview was profound.

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Did he actually want to join Chelsea in the first place?

This was the impression Inter fans were left with in the summer. After all, Marotta repeatedly claimed Lukaku was the one who came to see Inter and expressed his desire to accept Chelsea’s offer.

The Sky Italia interview can be seen as Lukaku setting the record a little straighter and giving his own, more nuanced version of events which is set, on the one hand, in the context of Inter’s financial constraints and their inability to offer him an extension. “There wasn’t the possibility,” Lukaku said, “and this was hard to accept.”

He had, after all, turned down Manchester City at the end of his first season at San Siro. The offer, Lukaku says, “was higher than the one from Chelsea” last summer. Nevertheless he refused it. “Why? Because I didn’t want to go. I didn’t think it was the right time. It was the first year and I didn’t want to leave Inter. I wanted to do something good for Inter because Inter saved my career.”

Chelsea do not appear to have been in his plans until the opportunity to return to Stamford Bridge presented itself. “In my head I was thinking about doing a few more years at Inter. For me, in football there are three top teams: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. A player… all players dream of one day pulling on the shirt of one of these three teams.”

The plan was to build on his legacy at Inter and then “if one day there was the possibility, to go to one of these teams. Only then would I have left Inter but first I wanted to renew (my contract). But it didn’t happen and so I said to myself: if it doesn’t happen, there’s only one team where I can imagine myself and that’s Chelsea.”

Lukaku claims that while he may have been affronted by the extension from Inter that wasn’t forthcoming, he hadn’t seriously considered leaving until Chelsea showed interest. Why his old club apparently didn’t figure in his initial career plan post-Inter, it can perhaps be put down to Lukaku not expecting the opportunity to return to the Bridge to materialise.

Lukaku’s recent form has been good (Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

He left in 2014 and could have gone back in 2017 when Conte first tried to sign him. A deal was done with United instead. The train for Chelsea doesn’t pass often but in Lukaku’s case, pass a third time it did. That must have been flattering.

When Sky Italia asked why things turned out the way they did in the summer, Lukaku said: “Because I grew up supporting Chelsea. They were the team I loved as an 11-year-old. There is footage of when I went to Stamford Bridge for the first time with school. I was 15 or 16.” The challenge also appealed to him. “The fact I didn’t win anything in eight years in England bothered me, it bothered me a lot. Having the chance to come back here and play in the shirt of the team I supported as a kid, well, it was hard to say no.”

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How has Lukaku settled on his return to Chelsea?

For one reason or another, his second Chelsea career hasn’t had much of a chance to get going. This is the source of some of the 28-year-old’s frustration.

It didn’t help that the transfer was finalised after pre-season so Tuchel didn’t get a chance to work on the system with Lukaku in it for a few vital weeks in training.

Still, that didn’t seem to be a problem when Lukaku started off by scoring four goals in as many matches, including a fine all-round debut at Arsenal which had some pundits backing Chelsea to win the Premier League.

But he then went 10 appearances and three months without finding the net, which was partly due to being injured for over five weeks with an ankle problem sustained on international duty for Belgium.

However, the fitness issues weren’t the only cause for the drought. Chelsea were struggling to get the ball or create chances for the striker. It had become a talking point. It is understood the player felt like he was playing in a tactical straitjacket.

It is believed Lukaku has also been struggling on the domestic front. Unlike in Italy, when his mother and son were living with him, the forward has been living on his own in England and has been finding that difficult. Due to contracting COVID-19 earlier this month and having to isolate for 10 days, he missed his son’s birthday and had to spend Christmas by himself too.

There had been reasons to be positive lately though and as it turned out, after he’d already expressed discontent to Sky Italia. Some of that angst had been sparked by getting just an eight-minute cameo against former club Manchester United.

But Lukaku looked like he was starting to rediscover his goalscoring touch with efforts against Zenit St Petersburg, Aston Villa and Brighton. Significantly in those last two appearances, he was showing the physical presence which made Chelsea pay such a vast sum in the first place.

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Does he have history when it comes to talking to the media if he’s unhappy? 

Lukaku used Belgian television in 2017 to tell the world that he would not be signing a new Everton contract. He also said a few months earlier that the club lacked ambition in an interview at a Kick It Out anti-discrimination event. Manager Ronald Koeman and the club’s hierarchy were not happy.

Lukaku pushed for a move away from Everton (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

He also got in trouble at Manchester United in 2019 for not turning up to train when he was trying to force a move away from the club. He was fined and soon after got his transfer to Inter. This followed an interview in which he criticised United’s treatment of him and made clear his desire to escape the club.

What has the reception of the interview been like in Italy?

When Lukaku left in August, Inter’s Curva Nord (stand at the San Siro) were distinctly unimpressed.

“The only thing that’s sacred in football anymore is the link between the shirt and the fans. Players, owners and coaches are just the tools. They are not the essence. We stay. They go. Your average Inter fan should wake up to that! Dear Lukaku, we expected more honesty and transparency from you. Despite welcoming and protecting you like a son, like one of us, you instead showed that you’re just like all the rest by bowing to money. We wish you all the best even though greed does not always pay.”

Lukaku’s interview with Sky did not alter that opinion. Outside San Siro the ultras left another banner saying: “Those who run away when it rains mean nothing to us. Those who stay in a storm do. Ciao Romelu.” Contradictions in his interview have been pointed out. For instance, Lukaku says his decision to leave wasn’t about money rather the contract extension that never arrived. Did he need one, though, when his existing deal still had three years to run?

With Inter top of the table, through to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in a decade, and playing as well as they have done for as long as anyone can remember, a common response to the interview is that Lukaku misses Inter more than Inter misses him right now. If Lukaku were top of the scoring charts in the Premier League, maybe fans would be more conflicted. Instead, his successor Edin Dzeko is matching Lukaku’s goal output and while he may be a short-term solution at his age, the Bosnian is venerated in Italy as one of the best strikers of his generation.

An editorial in La Gazzetta dello Sport criticised Lukaku for not appreciating what he had at Inter and underestimating the need for a player to adapt upon joining a team that has recently been crowned champions of Europe. “You can’t buy happiness and when you achieve it, it’s best not to sell it to the highest bidder” was the paper’s stance.

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Regardless of how the ultras and the media feel, what Lukaku did for Inter will not be forgotten. But a return to the club seems improbable. The club is no longer in a position to spend like it used to when he first joined and reports are gathering momentum about owners Suning once again looking for a buyer for the Nerazzurri. “I’d take him back on loan,” was Ausilio’s jokey response to Pastorello’s comments at the beginning of December about Lukaku one day returning to Italy.

What is his relationship like with Chelsea fans?

It is hard to gauge what match-going fans think about the situation because Lukaku wasn’t named in the squad against Liverpool. His name wasn’t read out so you didn’t get to hear a cheer or a boo.

It was notable though that Tuchel’s name was sung during the contest. If the fanbase were truly unhappy with what the German had decided to do, it surely wouldn’t have been heard at all.

The majority of people on social media have expressed their unhappiness at Lukaku’s interview and don’t appear to be in the mood to forgive and forget. Some want him to get his wish and be sold back to Inter Milan. However, there are others who think it has all been blown out of proportion.

It is some turnaround for the Belgium international, whose name has been sung ever since he arrived. This is despite the struggle for form and goals. Despite his Tuesday night apology, one suspects it is going to take quite a bit of time for Lukaku to be pardoned by the masses… or a few goals against Tottenham this month, if he is recalled, to turn things around.

What happens now? 

Life goes on and Chelsea and the player hope a line has been drawn under the incident.

Chelsea have a huge game with Tottenham in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final on Wednesday night and Tuchel is likely to include Lukaku after his apologies. Whether the truce lasts or not is impossible to say but Chelsea need a fit and firing Lukaku if they are going to regain some form.

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In truth, it is hard to see what Lukaku can do even if he wants to leave. Chelsea are not going to consider making a loss having bought him for a club-record £97.5 million in August and a loan elsewhere doesn’t seem very feasible either due to his wage package which is a minimum of £340,000 a week. Chelsea surely also would need to bring in a striker to replace him and that is not easy at short notice.

Any hopes of returning to his beloved Inter Milan must be the stuff of fantasy. The reason why the club listened to Chelsea’s offer in the first place was because of the financial situation they’re in. Besides, their squad is now set.

There doesn’t seem to be any other options. Lukaku admitted that Manchester City made a bid for him in 2020, but Chelsea aren’t going to strengthen a Premier League and Champions League rival.

Real Madrid are focusing their efforts on Kylian Mbappe, while the biggest clubs in Europe, including Manchester City, are keen on Erling Haaland. Paris Saint-Germain is another team that he might be linked with, but they reportedly need to raise £100 million in sales.

Finally, Lukaku’s performances and recent behaviour will hardly make him an attractive proposition right now. It looks like they’re stuck with each other and the best thing was for them to make peace… even if it is just for the short term.

(Other contributors: James Horncastle, Dominic Fifield)

(Top photo: Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

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