Romelu Lukaku is Napoli's strength this season, last year he was one of Roma's key players, and two years ago he played in the Champions League final with Inter, in which he was one of the tragic...
The Belgian has changed many clubs in a short time, but in the last three seasons he has at least "chosen" a country that suits him - he has positioned himself in Italy, felt what kind of football is played in the north of the country, and how passionate it is in the south.
Romelu has been through it all, and in an interview with Rome's Corriere dello Sport, he once again mentioned how much Antonio Conte, with whom he now works at Napoli, has helped him in his career.
"I never liked playing with my back to goal, but when we were together at Chelsea he made it clear to me: 'Rommel, if you don't improve in that area then you can't play for me'. There was no alternative," Lukaku said.
"And I'm grateful to him for that - he turned my weakness in the game and what I didn't even want to do into quality and my greatest strength," Lukaku added.
He also worked with Conte at Inter in his first term in the black and blue jersey. The Scudetto was won then, and then the summer of 2021 changed everything - Conte, dissatisfied with the club's transfer policy, left in May, and Lukaku did the same in August when an offer of almost 120 million euros arrived from Chelsea.
Lukaku didn't play well under Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge (the German asked him to do practically the opposite of Conte's ideas), so a year later the Belgian goal scorer arrived at the Meazza again - this time as a loan player.
He struggled with injuries and weight that season, then in the last three months of the same season he found form and helped Inter reach the Champions League final.
In the Istanbul cup match, Manchester City were better thanks to a goal from Rodri, and Lukaku missed a great chance to make it 1:1, but also "saved" a goal that had already been seen when Federico Dimarco shot.
It was then certain that Inter would buy Lukaku's contract from Chelsea, which was the wish of both the club and the player, but the footballer suddenly changed his plan.
There was speculation at the time that he was in talks with Milan and Juventus at the same time as Inter, which angered the "Nerazures" - the deal fell through, Inter brought in Marcus Thuram instead of Lukaku...
Lukaku then became a hated figure for Inter fans, and was resented by his teammates because they also apparently thought they would continue to share the same dressing room.
"I never said anything bad about Inter, never. If anyone said anything during that period, it wasn't me," Lukaku said.
He had a special bond on and off the field with Lautaro Martinez.
"We never spoke again. Lautaro is a great guy and footballer, he deserves everything good that happens to him in his career. He brings shine to Serie A," says Lukaku.
He also mentioned Jose Mourinho, with whom he worked at Manchester United and Roma.
"It's absolutely not true that the two of us have ever had disagreements. José is a winner, I'm sorry how his mission in Roma ended because he worked very well. He didn't have the strongest team at his disposal, but the results were good and he went all the way."
Lukaku turns 32 in May, he doesn't know how long he will play.
"I only know two things - that I will never be a coach and that I will end my career at my Anderlecht," Romelu concluded.
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