Romelu Lukaku has officially apologized for his statements in the much-discussed interview with Sky Italy. The much-discussed Chelsea striker expressed his dissatisfaction with his situation at the club on Thursday evening, which caused enormous commotion both internally and externally. Lukaku says in a video message on the club channels that he understands the anger of the fans; He also apologizes to his trainer, teammates, and the board of the Blues.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel left Lukaku according to The Athletic Monday night that a public apology was needed to restore confidence in the 28-year-old striker. A day later, the Belgian complied. “To the fans”, Lukaku starts off. “I am sorry for the anger I have caused. You know of the connection I have had with this club since my teenage years. I understand you are angry. It is now up to me to restore your trust and I will do my best to show commitment every day in training and in matches.”
A message from Romelu.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 4, 2022
“I told the manager, my teammates and the board that it was not the right time,” Lukaku continues. “From here on I want to move forward and make sure we win games, where I perform in the best possible way.” Lukaku was disciplinary suspended for his statements for the last Premier League game against Liverpool (2-2), but had ‘just’ scored in the two games before that (against Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion). Lukaku will return to Chelsea’s squad for Wednesday’s EFL Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur, Tuchel announced on Tuesday.
Lukaku, who made the switch from Internazionale for 115 million euros last summer, caused a lot of controversy in the interview by speaking negatively about Tuchel’s game system. He also indicated that he would not have returned to Chelsea last summer if Inter had extended his contract. Bee Sky Sports analysts Gary Neville and Graeme Souness already lashed out at the striker for this reason; trainer Tuchel indicated that he was ‘not happy’ with the statements. Roman Abramovich, the wealthy owner of Chelsea, soon fully supported the German trainer. According to the Italian newspaper La Republica Lukaku was fined 500,000 euros, which seems to have settled the incident – together with the video message.
Related
More sports news