Chelsea striker, Romelu Lukaku has apologized to the fans, coach Thomas Tuchel, and the club’s board over the comments he made in an interview recently.
In the interview, the 28-year-old striker said he decided to accept Chelsea’s offer because Inter Milan failed to extend his contract when he asked them to do so.
He also said he was not happy at Chelsea, adding that he was not happy how coach Thomas Tuchel is utilizing him at the Premier League club since he left Inter Milan for Chelsea last summer.
To crown it all, Lukaku made it clear via the interview that his initial intention was to leave Inter Milan for Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, or Bayern Munich, noting that he would like to return to Inter Milan soon.
Due to these comments, coach Thomas Tuchel decided to drop him for a crucial Premier League game involving the team and Liverpool last weekend. Chelsea managed to draw the game 2-2 without Lukaku.
The next day, coach Tuchel had a meeting with Romelu Lukaku over the comments. After the meeting, Tuchel decided to accept him back to the squad ahead of the club’s Carabao Cup semi-final game against Tottenham, and Lukaku tendered a public apology via the club’s website.
Lukaku said: “To the fans, I’m sorry for the upset that I caused. You guys know the connection that I have had with this club since my teenage years, so I totally understand you guys being upset.
“Obviously, it’s up to me now to restore your trust and I’ll do my best to show commitment every day on the training ground and in the games, trying to make sure that we win games.
“And also to the manager, I apologize, and also to my team-mates and the board, because I think it was not the right moment also and I want to move forward from this and make sure that we start winning football games and that I perform for the team in the best manner.”
A message from Romelu.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 4, 2022
Thomas Tuchel confirms that Romelu Lukaku will be fined
Coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that the dispute between the club and Romelu Lukaku has been settled. He also confirmed that the Belgian striker will be available for selection for the Carabao Cup semi-final game between Chelsea and Tottenham scheduled to kick-off at Stamford Bridge later today, January 5, 2022, at 20:45.
Aside from that, the coach confirmed that Lukaku would have to be fined and the Belgian striker has to accept the punishment.
Coach Tuchel said: “He has apologized and is back in the squad for today’s training [session] later. We have had enough time to clear the air and move on.
“For me, the most important thing was to understand and clearly understand and believe that it was not intentional.
“He did not do this intentionally to create noise in front of such a big game…
“There will be some disciplinary actions. Something happened, he will be fined and of course, he needs to accept it.
“It’s not about I push my opinions through or the club pushes their opinions through. We are adults and we reflect the situation.
“The more the story went on, I had a clear opinion and I was happy that was OK with the club to go with it.”
It has been reported that Chelsea have fined Romelu Lukaku £500,000 for his unguided comments.
Romelu Lukaku has been fined by @ChelseaFC 💙 pic.twitter.com/PgjNEIRpxY
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) January 4, 2022
