Romelu Lukaku snubbed Manchester City in high-wages deal before re-joining Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel
Romelu Lukaku says he turned down offer to join Man City on higher wages than his current Chelsea deal in 2020; Belgian striker would have “100 per cent” stayed at Inter Milan if club granted his wish of new contract in summer; Lukaku feels he deserves more game time at Chelsea.
Romelu Lukaku says he turned down a move to Manchester City in 2020, and only decided to swap Inter Milan for Chelsea when his request for a new contract in Italy was rejected this summer.
In a 29-minute interview with Sky in Italy recorded earlier in December, Lukaku said he was “not happy” with his situation at Chelsea, questioning Thomas Tuchel’s system and talking up the prospect of returning to Inter while he is still playing at a “good enough level”.
Tuchel conceded the comments are “not helpful” as they “bring noise that we don’t need”, but claimed the striker looks far from unsettled at Chelsea.
In a second part of the interview released on Friday, Lukaku said he decided to stay in Italy last summer and would “100 per cent” still be there if the club granted him his wish of a new deal in the summer.
“When I was at Inter, at the end of the first year, I turned down an offer from Manchester City which was higher than Chelsea’s this summer,” Lukaku said.
“I did it because it had only been a year, it wasn’t the right time to leave and I didn’t want to. I wanted to do something good for Inter, because I have to say that Inter saved my career to some extent.
“I was in a deep hole at Manchester United, things weren’t going well. I was a big investment for Inter but we did great things together.
“So the second year after we won the Scudetto, I went to speak with club chiefs and asked for a new contract. I did it because I told myself I’m 28 years old, my family feels great in Milan, I still have my flat there, my mother and my son could come and live there and we would all feel comfortable.
“But they didn’t want to extend my contract, the possibility wasn’t there. It was tough for me to accept, because in my head I told myself that I would be able to do a few more years in Milan.”
“In my opinion, there are three absolute top teams in football – Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Every player dreams of playing for one of these teams one day. So I thought if I ever had that possibility, I would sign a new contract with Inter and then go there.
“But it didn’t happen, so I told myself that there is only one team where I could possibly see myself – Chelsea. I wasn’t thinking about going there, but at one point they came in for me and so I asked [Inter boss Simone] Inzaghi to leave.
“The fact that they didn’t try to make me sign a new contract bothered me a bit, it hurt me even. If Inter offered me a new contract, I would have stayed 100 per cent. That goes without saying.
“Also the fact that I hadn’t won anything in England in eight years there bothered me a lot. So it was hard to turn down the chance to come back here with the team I have supported since I was a child.”
‘Conte was my mentor, now a rival’
Lukaku has been vocal about his relationship with Antonio Conte and repeatedly stated how the Italian tactician helped him develop as a player.
Now they are both in London, Lukaku says the motivation of proving himself to his former boss provides him with fresh motivation to succeed in England.
“I speak regularly with Conte, not just about football but life in general,” Lukaku said.
“It hurt me when he left Inter, it was one of the toughest moments for me but I didn’t leave because of him. I knew that we could still win things at Inter with Inzaghi.
“I think Conte at Spurs could do what he did at Inter in Serie A. But he also knows that our Chelsea team is really strong. I see him as an opponent in the league, I never won against him so that’s an extra motivation for me.
“He was a massive influence on my career, he helped me so much on a mental level, he taught me how to be a professional and how to make sacrifices on and off the pitch to be ready for any challenge.”
‘Tuchel trying to find the right system’
In the second segment of the interview, Lukaku also expanded on his comments released on Thursday where he vented his frustration at his lack of game time up until early December.
The 28-year-old said Tuchel is trying to work him into the Chelsea starting line-up and conceded he needs to be patient to grasp his chance to cement his spot in the team.
“I think I’m in a moment where the boss could play me a little more but I have to respect his decisions, continue to work and wait for my time to come,” he said.
“We’re trying to find a middle ground where we can meet, a system which can help the team perform at its best because right now we’re in a complicated situation.
“The boss made a choice, I have to keep working and at some point we will talk with Tuchel and see how it’s going.”
