Lukaku said something significant.
“After an eventful summer full of twists and turns, Roma striker Romelu Lukaku spoke at a press conference about the summer transfer market,” Italian outlet Calcio Mercato reported on Nov. 11 (ET).
Lukaku scored just eight Premier League goals for Chelsea during the 2021/22 season, and in an interview with Sky Italia, he admitted to being “unhappy” and expressed his desire to return to Inter Milan, upsetting the club and fans.
Lukaku was the hottest player in the transfer market this summer. He went on loan to Inter Milan last season and wanted to make a full transfer rather than return to Chelsea (England). Chelsea had a bad relationship with Lukaku and wanted to move on quickly. The Saudi Pro League made an offer for Lukaku, but he rejected it because he wanted to challenge himself in Europe.
With Inter Milan seemingly locked in, Lukaku made a shocking move. At the same time that he was negotiating with Inter, he was also in contact with Juventus (Italy). This was a huge betrayal for Inter, as both teams were competing for a place in the Champions League. Shortly after this revelation, Inter Milan withdrew their offer for Lukaku.
This included a growing rift with his teammates. On July 22, Italian outlet Gazzetta d’Italia reported, “Everyone is disappointed with Lukaku’s behavior, including captain Lautaro. Some of the players have been in constant contact with him, but he has ignored them all,” and reported that Lukaku and his teammates had crossed a point of no return.
In response, Juventus proposed a Blahovic-Lukaku trade with Chelsea. Chelsea were willing to pay €25 million more for Lukaku, but the deal fell apart when Juventus demanded €40 million.
Now Roma have entered the fray. On August 31, he signed a one-year loan deal with the club, taking a significant cut in his weekly wages.
He has had one of his best performances for Roma so far. He made his Roma debut as a substitute against AC Milan in Round 3, and then used his strengths to torment the Empoli defense in Round 4, scoring his debut goal for Roma.
He also scored the winning goal in the 20th minute of the Europa League away match against Sheriff to secure a 2-1 victory. In the league match against Torino on the 25th, he scored a theatrical 45th-minute equalizer to secure a dramatic draw.
He didn’t stop there. He scored in three consecutive games, starting with a goal against Frosinone on Nov. 2 and ending with a goal against Cagliari on Nov. 9, giving him five goals in six Serie A games.
He said something meaningful at the press conference: “Most of the people in this room know me. I don’t like to talk about 토토 nonsense. I’ll reveal it one day, but the truth is, if I told you what happened last summer, you’d all be shocked.”
“There were a few moments when I was really close to exploding, and five years ago, I wouldn’t have stood by and let it happen,” he said, taking a shot at the teams involved in this transfer window.