Romelu
Lukaku will stay at Chelsea following clear-the-air talks with Thomas Tuchel
and the striker accepts his controversial interview with Sky in Italy was a
mistake.
In an interview with Sky in Italy that was recorded a few weeks ago but
first aired last Thursday, Lukaku said he was unhappy with his role at the
club and would like to return to Inter Milan in the near future.
But Lukaku now believes he should not have made the comments that led to him
being omitted from Chelsea's squad for the 2-2 home draw against Liverpool
on Sunday.
Following conversations with Tuchel, there is now a commitment from all
parties for Lukaku to move on from the interview and help Chelsea reignite
their Premier League title bid.
But a transfer away from Chelsea has never been discussed and he will not be
leaving the club this month or next summer.
After revealing he only decided to swap Inter Milan for Chelsea when his
request for a new contract in Italy was rejected, Lukaku now insists he
wanted to join the Blues this summer and that he was not forced to rejoin
the club.
Meanwhile, there is no truth in reports from Italy on Monday suggesting
Lukaku is interested in linking back up with former Inter boss Antonio Conte
at Tottenham.
What did Lukaku say in controversial
interview?
In a 29-minute interview with Sky in Italy recorded earlier in December,
Lukaku said he said he was "not happy" with his situation at Chelsea,
questioned Tuchel's system and revealed he turned down a move to Manchester
City in 2020.
"Physically I'm doing great. I'm just not very happy with the situation, but
that's normal," Lukaku said. "I think the boss has decided to play a
different formation but I have to stick at it and get on with it
professionally.
"I'm not happy with the situation but it's my job and I mustn't give up.
"When I was at Inter, at the end of the first year, I turned down an offer
from Manchester City which was higher than Chelsea's this summer.
"So the second year after we won the Scudetto, I went to speak with club
chiefs and asked for a new contract. I did it because I told myself I'm 28
years old, my family feels great in Milan, I still have my flat there, my
mother and my son could come and live there and we would all feel
comfortable.
"But they didn't want to extend my contract, the possibility wasn't there.
It was tough for me to accept, because in my head I told myself that I would
be able to do a few more years in Milan."
"In my opinion, there are three absolute top teams in football - Real
Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Every player dreams of playing for one
of these teams one day. So I thought if I ever had that possibility, I would
sign a new contract with Inter and then go there.
"But it didn't happen, so I told myself that there is only one team where I
could possibly see myself - Chelsea. I wasn't thinking about going there,
but at one point they came in for me and so I asked [Inter boss Simone]
Inzaghi to leave.
"The fact that they didn't try to make me sign a new contract bothered me a
bit, it hurt me even. If Inter offered me a new contract, I would have
stayed 100 per cent. That goes without saying."
top