Romelu Lukaku returned to Inter to demonstrate his love for Italy. Sokker.ru – about the position of the attacker.
Dreams come true. This time Romelu Lukaku’s dream came true, he really wanted to return to Inter and he’s back. True, this comeback has been associated with scandals and the future of the Belgian giant in Milan is not so clear.
Rent for one year
When a big club wants to buy a player, it has to look to financial fair play. In many ways it was he who did not allow Inter to count on a full return of Lukaku. Just a year ago, the Belgian Nerazzurri were sold to Chelsea for 98 million pounds. And they couldn’t buy it back. In addition, Romelu has a contract with the Londoners for another four years.
But even in Thomas Tuchel’s team, Lukaku is not particularly happy. The player was in limbo, which seems odd for a football player that money was paid for. The solution was found in the lease. Inter Milan signed Lukaku until the end of next season for £ 6.9m, apparently finding a Solomonic solution.
Disappointment after take off
The fate of football is very ambiguous and unpredictable. Who could have imagined that Lukaku would be restless, even though a year ago he became a triumph in Italy. Romelu played for Inter from 2019 to 2021. The penultimate season helped the team led by Antonio Conte to win the Italian championship, scoring 24 goals. Subsequently, he made it clear that he wanted to return to Chelsea, for which he played from 2011 to 2014. The return came for very good money.
However, Lukaku only scored eight Premier League goals last season for the Londoners. Although the start of the season was not bad, Romelu quickly fell out of favor with Thomas Tuchel. An unpleasant story also emerged when the German manager, while watching the Tottenham match, which Conte was already in, pointed Lukaku to Antonio and said: “Look, this is your dad.” Someone may have laughed at this joke, but it shocked Lukaku. Like the whole situation at Chelsea.
Breaking the covers in an interview
Last summer Lukaku actively asked to return to Chelsea, and in December the scandalous interview of the Belgian with Sky Sport came out, in which Romelu had already said he wanted to return to Inter, where he was really happy. At Chelsea, they say, he doesn’t have the same feelings. Some snippets of the interview blew up the fan community in both England and Italy:
I don’t think what happened last summer should have happened like this. There shouldn’t have been such communication with Inter fans, I shouldn’t have left this team like that. It worries me because it wasn’t the right time. Now I am ready to share my feelings. I have always said that Inter are in my heart. I know that I will return to Inter and I really hope so. I am in love with Italy. Now is a good time to tell people what really happened. I really believe I can return to Inter not at the end of my career, but at the peak of winning a lot together. I want to apologize to the Inter fans. What you did for me, I will always remember.
It’s hard to say what Lukaku meant when he said it was the best time to roll him out like this. After all, it was mid-season. And there were no conditions to return to Inter immediately. Therefore, such frankness cost the Belgian dearly. The already far from ideal relationship with Tuchel has finally deteriorated, despite subsequent apologies. Lukaku almost didn’t have a chance. If the plan was to get everyone away from him at Chelsea, then he succeeded. But it didn’t work very well for the Inter fans to turn back.
Another return
Lukaku’s haste obviously did not impress fans in either Italy or England. With his actions, Romelu devalued the very words of him. And his new apology only aggravates the situation. What’s the point of such an excuse, if in a few months he can say something to apologize again later? Lukaku’s return to Milan was greeted with jubilation by some fans, but the ultras are determined not to accept Romela.
The famous ultras group Curva Nord released a statement describing their opinion on Lukaku’s behavior, recalling his treacherous act last summer:
We support Inter and we will not oppose a new player in the team. But we don’t want Lukaku to be greeted with scarves and flags from our fan groups. Any further attitudes he has to earn with work and then. He was supported and treated like a king, and now he is one of many. We will never personally cheer for Lukaku, even if he will wear the Inter kit again. You can’t pretend that nothing happened. If we do, we will only accelerate the process of accepting fans as stupid and strong-willed consumers. We are not at the mercy of clubs and players. We noticed Lukaku’s betrayal and were shocked by it. You can forgive him over time, but this act will remain in history.
Lukaku found himself in a delicate and unexpected position. Over the past year, he has managed to transform from one of the most expensive and productive forwards into an outcast among the supporters of the two clubs, to whom he has been trying to return with a hiatus of several months. Attempting to sit in two chairs seemed devastating to his career. However, Milan have decided to give the 29-year-old Belgian a chance. And this is definitely the last chance. To regain a positive reputation this time around, Lukaku will have to sweat more – just for the outstanding performance he will be forgiven.
