Romalu Lukaku's second spell at Chelsea turned out to be an unhappy one
Romelu Lukaku's second spell at Chelsea turned out to be an unhappy one
Romelu Lukaku says Chelsea actively "worked against him" during his second spell at the club, as the Belgian was frozen out before eventually returning to Italian football.
Lukaku rejoined the Blues in a huge £97m move from Inter Milan in the summer of 2021, seven years after he had left Chelsea to join Everton. But despite a promising start things soon turned sour for the forward in west London, and he rejoined Inter on loan a year later, before a further loan move to Roma and then a permanent switch to Napoli last summer.
The forward, 31, scored 15 goals in 44 games in his second spell at Stamford Bridge, but he would find himself frozen out as the club sought to move on players they no longer wanted.
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"I wasn’t alone at Chelsea," Lukaku told Italian publication Corriere dello Sport. "(Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang and (Hakim) Ziyech were also out of the project.
"They made us change in the youth locker room. It’s business, the club tells you it doesn’t want you anymore and often also where you’ll end up. But if you want to leave, even for serious reasons, you don’t have the option. They drag it out until the last moment, they wear you down.
"Clubs have relationships with the media, and it doesn’t take much to put a player in a difficult position or create the wrong image. Believe me, I’ve seen things I never thought I would. One day, I’d like to explain all of this to younger players, who is really working for them and who is working against them."
Lukaku scored 15 goals in 44 games in his second spell at Chelsea
Lukaku scored 15 goals in 44 games in his second spell at Chelsea
Former Arsenal forward Aubameyang joined Chelsea from Barcelona in September 2022, but would depart less than a year later after just three goals in 21 appearances, while winger Ziyech had three seasons at Stamford Bridge before joining Galatasaray in 2023.
Lukaku, meanwhile, feels supporters always had the wrong impression of him in English football, where he would often be called overweight and lazy.
"In England they had the wrong idea," he continued. "For them I was lazy, but I never reacted to the attacks. I am someone who does his job and then goes home.
"In Italy the opinion has been reversed, here I am a worker. Now (at Napoli) I am better than when I was at Inter. There I was 101kg, here 99kg."
Lukaku also credits ex-Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, now at Napoli, for improving as him a player with his back to goal. "Conte was very clear," he said. "If you don’t improve this aspect, you can’t play with me. No alternatives.
"I have to thank him because what used to be my weakness turned into a strength."
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