Premier League: Romelu Lukaku turned down record-breaking Manchester City offer in 2020

Chelsea and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku has been in the news recently for telling the media that he is ‘unhappy’ with his current situation at Chelsea.

The interview, which is believed to have been recorded by Sky in Italy a few weeks earlier, is also doing the rounds for Lukaku’s revelations about his contract talks with Inter Milan and ultimate transfer to Chelsea. The second part of the interview was released on Friday and has provided new insights into Lukaku’s move to Chelsea.

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The big Belgian told the media outlet that he had had decided to stay in Italy last summer and would have remained with Serie A side Inter Milan “100 percent” if his wish for a new deal had been granted.

“I did it because it had only been a year, it wasn’t the right time to leave and I didn’t want to. I wanted to do something good for Inter, because I have to say that Inter saved my career to some extent,” the Belgian striker told Sky.

Justifying his comments, Lukaku added, “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.”

However, that wasn’t all. In a rather explosive revelation, Lukaku went on to say, “When I was at Inter, at the end of the first year, I turned down an offer from Manchester City which was higher than Chelsea’s this summer.”

Lukaku went on to talk about the teams he held in the highest of regards, saying, “In my opinion, there are three absolute top teams in football – Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich. Every player dreams of playing for one of these teams one day. So I thought if I ever had that possibility, I would sign a new contract with Inter and then go there.”

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When his dream move did not transpire, Lukaku decided to choose Chelsea. In his own words, “I told myself that there is only one team where I could possibly see myself – Chelsea. I wasn’t thinking about going there, but at one point they came in for me and so I asked [Inter boss Simone] Inzaghi to leave.”

“The fact that [Inter] they didn’t try to make me sign a new contract bothered me a bit, it hurt me even,” Lukaku carried on, adding that he chose Chelsea because “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.”

The first part of this interview, which had been released earlier, had painted a picture that suggested Lukaku was unhappy with Chelsea, without any context. The second part, however, provides new context on Lukaku and his thought process, which may soften the impact of his rather harsh words on Chelsea supporters and management.