Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku joined AS Roma on a season-long loan towards the end of the last window.
In the summer, the striker made clear that he had no future with the Blues, after he returned from a loan spell at Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri were keen on bringing him back but a deal collapsed after the player flirted with Juventus.
Chelsea then tried to place the 30-year-old in Saudi Arabia, before Roma opened the door for him to continue in Europe.
La Dernière Heure have published a lengthy interview with Lukaku’s father, Roger, and he has insisted that his son should have accepted Al-Hilal’s offer in the summer.
“He made the right choice by going to Roma. But I would have been in Saudi Arabia. I told Jordan [Lukaku] – with whom the flow goes better – to give him my message that he had to go to Al-Hilal,” he said.
“How much would he have earned? €45m per year? And he would have signed for three years? He should have spoken to Tedesco to see if he could keep his place in the national team, like Ronaldo. Romelu has two children. He is already 30 years old. At some point you have to think about yourself, but he wanted to stay in Europe.”
A move to Roma saw the Belgium international reunite with José Mourinho, and he’s done well under the Portuguese tactician’s guidance.
Romeu has scored nine goals from 14 games this season but was unable to stop his side from suffering a defeat against Inter at the San Siro. The reaction from the Nerazzurri fans towards the Chelsea owned player hasn’t pleased his father.
“He is right to work with lawyers more than with agents, who only think about lining their pockets and not the interests of the player. It hurts me to see how he was treated in Italy,” Roger explained.
“You know that I turned off the TV at half-time during Inter vs AS Roma. It was hard. It’s like someone is whistling at me. I know he has elephant skin, but there are limits. Stress can cause physical injury. When we see what he did for Inter…”
La Dernière Heure state there’s been tension between Romeu and Roger since his parents’ divorce, and the latter remains hopeful this interview can “open a door” to fixing their relationship.
