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| Romelu Lukaku of FC Internazionale smiles during the presentation of the new 2022/2023 Nike jersey at the Nike store in piazza Gae Aulenti 6 on July 14, 2022 in Milan, Italy. |
Romelu Lukaku has finally admitted that leaving Inter Milan for Chelsea last summer was a mistake.
The former Chelsea striker returned to Stamford Bridge for a club-record £97million, but the homecoming proved to be a disaster, with Lukaku scoring just eight Premier League goals in 26 appearances.
Infamously, the 29-year-old earned the wrath of Thomas Tuchel, his teammates, and Blues fans after giving an explosive interview last December, where he expressed regret at moving to the West London club.
Earlier in July, Lukaku returned to Inter on loan, and while Tuchel says there is a chance he could play for Chelsea again, it is unlikely.
While the Belgian international has made no secret that Chelsea was the wrong club to join, it was the player himself that pushed for a move away from the San Siro in the first place, but in a new interview he has finally admitted that he never should have considered leaving Italy.
‘The biggest challenge of my career will be this season here,’ he said at an event to present the new Inter shirts for the upcoming season.
‘I left. It was a mistake, right Nico?’ he jokingly asked teammate Nicolo Barella.
‘Now I am happy to be wearing this jersey, the team knows what we need to do, it’ll be a great challenge this season and we need to continue like this.
‘I realised last season when I was in England, just how important Inter are in the world. The club’s profile is improving on an international scale, the social media approach is really important too and you can see how we act in the locker room, in training, our hugs and jokes.
‘Milan is a wonderful city and that is why I kept the old apartment when I went to London, because my mother was coming here all the time and I wanted to return too.’
In two seasons with Inter, Lukaku scored 64 goals in 95 games, winning Serie A in 2021, and he’ll be aiming to pick up where he left out and reclaim the league title from Inter’s fierce rivals AC Milan.
