Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku joins AS Roma on a season-long loan from Chelsea. The Blues will receive a €5 million loan fee for Lukaku.
Furthermore, Lukaku will earn around €7.5 million for the season. The 30-year-old will now reunite with coach Jose Mourinho, under whom he played at Manchester United.
After making a move to Inter in 2019 from Manchester United, Lukaku rejoined Chelsea for £97.5 million in 2021. However, his return to the Premier League was unsuccessful.
Despite being linked with Inter and Juventus all summer long, it was Mourinho’s Roma who have signed Lukaku. Moreover, after Tammy Abraham suffered a long-term injury, Roma needed a new striker.
The Belgian will not need extra time to settle into the Serie A as he has already spent three years with Inter, scoring 57 goals and providing 18 assists.
Romelu Lukaku joins AS Roma after rejecting Inter move
Lukaku’s former team Inter was ready to sign him on a permanent deal and also agreed on a fee with Chelsea. However, when Inter directors were trying to contact him, he ignored their calls and messages.
Later it was revealed that Lukaku also had an offer from Juventus and that they were offering him more wages than the Nerazzurri. Inter director Piero Ausilio later called him and said ‘it’s over’ between him and Inter.
Furthermore, Juventus fans were furious when they saw that Lukaku may join them. So, their fans stormed out on the pitch during their pre-season friendly against AC Milan.
The chants of “noi Lukaku non lo vogliamo” (“We don’t want Lukaku”) were also heard around the ground.
With neither Inter, Chelsea nor Juventus fans wanting Lukaku at their clubs, he had no choice but to wait for other clubs.
So, Roma decided to sign him in the final days of the transfer window. The Belgian will now link-up with World Cup winner Paulo Dybala.
