Was only going to leave Inter Milan for Chelsea as I would never say no, admits Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku signed for Chelsea this summer
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Romelu Lukaku has confessed that he was only going to leave Inter Milan for Chelsea and only asked the Serie A side for the move once he realized that the Blues were serious. The Belgian striker re-signed for the Stamford Bridge side this summer after spending two years with the Nerazzurri.
Ever since his move to Italy from Manchester United in the summer of 2019, few expected Romelu Lukaku to return to England especially given the torrid time he endured at Old Trafford. But the Belgian’s form combined with his goalscoring prowess in Italy saw Chelsea overly keen on a move and the Blues eventually made their interest heard. That came via three offers starting at €100 million with Inter Milan eventually accepting a worth of €110 million for the forward.
However, it saw many fans and critics alike concerned at the fact that the Belgian wanted to leave with many even branding the forward as a traitor. But Lukaku has cleared the air and revealed that he was only going to leave Inter Milan for Chelsea and only asked to leave once he realized that the Blues’ offer was serious. The forward also added that he didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere and thus asked to leave the San Siro this summer.
"I was only going to leave Inter Milan for Chelsea. Kids love Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United. And Chelsea for me, everyone knows what Chelsea means to me. If they ask me, why would I say no? I only realised that Chelsea was serious at the third offer," Lukaku told HLN.
“So it was €100m (£85m), then it was €105m (£90m), and then it went to €110m (£94m). Then I knew, this is truly serious. I was in a deep hole at Man United. I didn't want to go behind Inter's back.
"So after training I went to [Inter boss Simone] Inzaghi's office. I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere because I was no longer with my head in Milan. So I asked him: please find an agreement."
The Belgian re-signed this summer and will be under Thomas Tuchel’s management with the German boss leading the Blues to the Champions League trophy last summer. It had many fans worried that Lukaku wouldn’t be the perfect fix for the former PSG coach but a goal on his debut has proved otherwise. It also saw the 28-year-old add that while the intensity of the training sessions are very high, he loves both the system and the intensity.
"The first two training sessions, that intensity was so high that the first two or three days I had a bit of a scare. But two days before the match we had a training session where I scored two goals and I thought yes.
"The team is looking good, the coach is looking good, I love the system that we play because it's the same system as here [with Belgium], only the emphasis is different. For me it's fantastic because I play in a team that dominates,” he added.
