It’s the latest revelation from his bombshell interview
Romelu Lukaku has admitted that he would have stayed at Inter Milan in the summer if they had offered him a new contract.
Lukaku returned to Stamford Bridge from Inter Milan in the summer for €115 million, but has revealed that he would have stayed in Italy if he had been offered the contract he wanted. The Chelsea striker told Sky Sport Italy:
“If there had been the offer of a new contract from Inter last summer as I wanted… we would not be doing this interview now here from London, but quietly from Milano.”
The 28-year-old said that the main reason for his departure from the San Siro was financial, with Inter not being able to offer him the new contract he had asked for.
When asked if he would have stayed at the club if they had the “economic power to keep top players” he replied: “In that case I would have stayed at Inter 100% last summer! No need to discuss that. Then Conte left, then Hakimi – the club was rumoured to be in trouble…”
Sky: "Can we say that you would have stayed Inter if the club had the economic power to keep top players?". ⤵️
Lukaku: "In that case I would have stayed at Inter 100% last summer! No need to discuss that. Then Conte left, then Hakimi, the club was rumored to be in trouble…". pic.twitter.com/rEw8Trvl6y
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 31, 2021
Thomas Tuchel responds to Lukaku interview
Lukaku continued: “Last summer I went to talk to the Inter board and I asked for a new contract. I said: I’m 28, I wanted to plan my life in Italy with a new deal… but Inter said no. Maybe there wasn’t the economic possibility. For me it was difficult to accept”
In the same interview, the Belgian admitted to being frustrated by Thomas Tuchel’s system at Chelsea, saying that he was “not happy with the situation at Chelsea.”
“Physically I am fine,” Romano quoted the Belgian as saying, “but I’m not happy with the situation at Chelsea. Tuchel has chosen to play with another system – I won’t give up, I’ll be professional. I am not happy with the situation but I am professional – and I can’t give up now.”
Back in 2019, as he was settling into Serie A life with Inter, Lukaku told Corriere dello Sport that he decided to leave Manchester United after being played out wide in a league game.
“It was after the game against West Ham at home, [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer decided to put me on the right wing, very wide. The experience in Manchester made me mentally stronger because not everything went as I had expected.”
Tuchel has since labelled Lukaku’s comments as “not helpful”, but said he doesn’t want to “make more out of it than it actually is.”
“You know very well how it is – it’s very easy to take lines out of context. It’s very easy to shorten lines and make headlines, then later realise that it’s not so bad and maybe not what he meant. But, let’s be honest, we are not happy with it.”
Chelsea take on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday in a huge title race clash. No doubt a lot of attention will be on Lukaku and how much he features for the Blues.
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