Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku reveals he turned down move to Manchester City from Inter Milan in 2020
In an interview with Sky Sports, Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku revealed that he had turned down an offer from Manchester City, which was higher what the Blues offered.
FollowAmidst rumours that Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is eyeing a return to Italy, soon comes a revelation that will leave the Blues fans surprised. The Belgian has said that he turned down an offer to move to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City last year and decided to move to Chelsea this summer after his request for a new contract in Inter Milan was rejected.
In an interview with Sky Sports released on Friday (December 31), the 28-year-old striker revealed that he had decided to stay in Italy last summer and would have 100 per cent continued to play for Inter Milan if the club had granted his wish of a new deal. Lukaku said, "When I was at Inter Milan, at the end of the first year, I turned down an offer from Manchester City that was higher than Chelsea's this summer."
Expressing that Inter saved his career to some extent, Lukaku went on to add that he turned down the offer from Manchester City because it had only been a year, and it was not the right time to leave the club. "I didn't want to. I wanted to do something good for Inter. I was in a deep hole at Manchester United; things weren't going well. I was a big investment for Inter, but we did great things together," the Belgian added.
Revealing that he found it hard to accept that Inter had not extended his contract, Romelu Lukaku added that he went to speak with the club chiefs as he and his family felt comfortable at Milan. " 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," the striker mentioned.
"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," Lukaku revealed.
Romelu Lukaku 'not happy' with the situation at Chelsea
In the 29-minute interview with Sky Sports, which was recorded earlier in December and released on Friday, Lukaku also added that he was not happy with his current situation at Stamford Bridge and questioned manager Thomas Tuchel's system.
Conceding that he needs to be patient to grasp a chance and cement his spot in Chelsea, Lukaku added that Tuchel is trying to work him into the Blues' starting line-up. However, he admitted that Tuchel should let him play a little more, adding that he respects the German's decision and will wait for his moment to come.
"We're trying to find a middle ground where we can meet, a system which can help the team perform at its best because right now we're in a complicated situation. The boss made a choice, I have to keep working, and at some point, we will talk with Tuchel and see how it's going," the Belgian stated.
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Lukaku: There are three top teams in football - Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich
In the interview with Sky Sports, Romelu Lukaku also went on to reveal that like every player, he also dreams of playing for one of the top three clubs in football, i.e. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. "I thought if I ever had that possibility, I would sign a new contract with Inter Milan and then go to one of these three clubs," Lukaku added.
However, since Inter did not extend the striker's contract, Lukaku said that there was only one team where he could possibly see himself play, i.e. Chelsea. "If Inter offered me a new contract, I would have stayed 100 per cent. That goes without saying. Also, the fact that I hadn't won anything in England in eight years there bothered me a lot. So it was hard to turn down the chance to come back here with the team I have supported since I was a child," Lukalu told Sky Sports.
The 28-year-old striker moved to Chelsea in the summer for a club record of 97.5 million pounds, which saw the end of a two-year stay at Inter Milan that culminated in the club winning Serie A. Since re-signing for the Blues - a decade after he initially joined the club - Romelu Lukaku has made 18 appearances, scoring seven goals, before he took a hit due to an ankle strain and Covid-19. His most recent outing was when he scored against Brighton that saw Chelsea register a 1-1 draw.
