“It was an initiative he took on his own and that he probably wouldn’t take again” – Romelu Lukaku’s lawyer opens up on ‘awkward’ Chelsea interview
Inter Mila's loan-in striker Romelu Lukaku's lawyer has opened up on the Belgian star's 'awkward' Chelsea interview.
Lukaku, 29, is set to rejoin Inter on a season-long loan, following a dismal campaign at Stamford Bridge.
His £97.8 million club-record arrival at manager Thomas Tuchel's side was littered with issues on and off the field, with the striker falling out of favour with the German manager.
The Belgian striker irritated Chelsea by doing a Sky Italia interview, where he discussed issues he endured at the club and his desire to return to Inter.
Lukaku has never bounced back from thaf controversial interview, although he has now got his much-touted return to Inter.
The player's lawyer Sebastian Ledure has opened up on the ill-fated interview that saw Lukaku quickly become vilified at Stamford Bridge. He told La Libre (via 90min):
"This interview was from the heart and was perhaps awkward. It was an initiative that he took on his own and that he probably wouldn't take again. He suffered the consequences of this for the remainder of the season as it weighed down his daily work environment."
Lukaku ended last season at Chelsea with 15 goals in 43 appearances across competitions, a stark contrast to the 30 goals in 44 games he managed at Inter the season before that.
Ledure highlighted the Belgian's desire to find form once again, adding:
"He quickly made it clear to me that, given he is 29 and at the peak of his career, he could not afford to lose another year. It's an open secret that he was not on the same wavelength as his coach."
"When I saw the financial debt Inter were in, I had to do something. So I secured a big money move to Chelsea. The fans never understood it at the time, but everything I did, I did for Milano, my first love. Inter pulled me out of sh*t - again"
- Lukaku via Sky Italia, Oct 2022 https://t.co/K3WE0VRBbt
Romelu Lukaku's lawyer didn't think his client's loan move from Chelsea to Inter Milan would happen
Sebastian Ledure has admitted that he didn't see Lukaku's loan switch happening, especially under the West London side's old ownership.
Ledure said (via the aforementioned source):
"At first, nobody believed it was going to happen. The question was: how can a player who was sold for more than €100m go back to the same club that says there is no money to take him back?"
He continued:
"On top of that, you should know that during the transfer last year, relations between the former management of Chelsea and the management of Inter were very tense."
Ledure concluded by claiming he didn't think the loan deal would have occurred without the Todd Boehly-led consortium's takeover in May:
"If there hadn't been a change of ownership at Chelsea, I doubt this deal would have been possible."
Romelu Lukaku was in contact with Inter throughout last season 😳 https://t.co/z6PcHtwGSX
Lukaku will hope to hit the ground running in his second innings at Inter.