Some of the biggest soccer clubs across the world are struggling financially and as a result are losing some of their biggest stars to clubs who have a better financial balance. Lionel Messi left Barcelona F.C and signed with Paris St- Germain in early August and now Romelu Lukaku has said goodbye to Inter Milan and signed with Chelsea.
Romelu Lukaku played a key role in helping Inter Milan win the Serie A Championship for the first time in over a decade. Inter Milan fans were grateful to Lukaku for bringing the Serie A title home and scoring 24 goals during the tournament.
Inter Milan fans were expecting another good season from Lukaku in 2021. It isn’t going to be as Lukaku surprised Inter Milan fans over the weekend when he announced that he was moving to Chelsea. Lukaku is reported to have signed a 5 year contract with Chelsea for £98 million and told his fans that it was the chance of a lifetime for him and something that he was unable to turn down.
Inter Milan fans have had to deal with big names leaving the club recently including coach Antonio Conte and top player Achraf Hakimi. On learning of Lukaku’s departure, fans were devastated and took to social media to express disappointment and accuse Lukaku of abandoning them.
Some fans took it to the next level as they defaced a mural of Lukaku outside the San Siro stadium. There are also reports of Lukaku receiving death threats from fans over his move to Chelsea.
Romelu Lukaku decided to pen an open letter to his fans based on the backlash. Lukaku was both emotional and transparent in his letter and thanked his Inter Milan fans for welcoming his family and treating them as one of their own. Lukaku reminded his fans that he gave 100 percent every time he put on that Inter Milan jersey and would not be the player he is today if it wasn’t for his time with the club.
— R.Lukaku Bolingoli9 (@RomeluLukaku9) August 15, 2021
Lukaku joined Milan in August 2019 on a 5 year contract valued at €80 million but decided to move on to Chelsea because the money was better. However his agent Federico Pastorello has denied that money was the sole motivator in him leaving Inter Milan. Pastorello claims that Lukaku has always dreamed of playing for Chelsea as a youngster which is why he decided to rejoin Chelsea again.