Romelu Lukaku has already made headlines, but now the Belgian is flourishing again in Naples. In one of his rare interviews, he looked back on his time at Chelsea – and didn’t have nice things to say.
Romelu Lukaku is a person who is easy to remember – whether it’s because of his towering stature, his football skills, his successes and failures or even because of the numerous rumors surrounding his person. The Belgian has had quite an odyssey, but now seems to have finally arrived in Naples.
“I knew I would come to Naples,” Lukaku said in an interview with Corriere dello Sport, praising the football-crazy region. ”It’s very inspiring here, everything in the city reminds you of the club and the passion of the people for it. Every employee at the club is a fan.” This releases “incredible energy”, energy that Lukaku has converted into nine goals from 25 league games this season. This is one of the reasons why Napoli are in the race for the championship, one point behind leaders Inter Milan in second place.
The Belgian is back on form, which may also be why he was willing to give an interview again. The 31-year-old usually avoids the media – and there is a reason for this, as he explains: “The clubs have close relationships with the media and it doesn’t take much for them to put a player in a bad light. That’s why people in England have the wrong idea about me and think I’m lazy. In Italy, the image has been turned around 180 degrees and I’m seen as a great worker.”
Chelsea still give him a bad stomach
The striker’s time at Chelsea in particular is apparently still weighing heavily on his mind. Lukaku also pointed out that he was not the only one to have a bad experience at the Blues. “Aubameyang and Ziyech were in the same situation. They forced us to change in the junior dressing room, we waited for weeks, they turned down offers.”
But that’s just the way it is in this business. “The club tells you that they no longer want you and they decide where you end up. But if you want to leave, you don’t have that option. They lead you around by the nose and deceive you. I have seen things that I didn’t think were possible. One day I will explain to young players who is working for them and who is working against them.”
No inter-hatred and thanks to Conte
Lukaku also regrets that his relationship with Inter Milan fans has now cooled considerably. This also has to do with he has disappointed the Nerazzurri twice – the first time in 2021, when he pushed hard for his move to Chelsea, and in 2023, when he initially returned to Milan on loan after a disappointing spell in London, but then negotiated with Serie A rivals Juventus and ultimately ended up at AS Roma. He is keen to stress that he “never hated Inter, never. If anyone has said otherwise, it wasn’t me.”
But all this time, he was a Chelsea player, only last summer did he finally close this chapter and is now flourishing again in Naples. One reason for this is coach Antonio Conte, with whom he won the Scudetto in 2021 with Inter Milan. “Before I met Conte, I hated playing with my back to goal. But he was very clear when he told me that I wouldn’t play for him if I didn’t improve this aspect. Today I’m grateful to him because he turned a weakness into a strength.”
