Agent has blamed two things for client's failure at Chelsea, including relationship with manager
Federico Pastorello was the football agent behind Romelu Lukaku’s return to Chelsea in 2021.
After winning the Champions League, Chelsea smashed their transfer record by re-signing Lukaku from Inter Milan for £97.5m.
The striker’s second spell at the club got off to a great start after he managed to score on his debut against Arsenal.
However, things quickly took a turn for the worse, and after just one year at Stamford Bridge, Lukaku rejoined Inter on loan. During his time in England, Lukaku was criticised for being “lazy”, a criticism that the Belgian does not agree with.
Federico Pastorello points finger at Thomas Tuchel and fitness
For Pastorello, Lukaku’s lack of success at Chelsea in his second spell at the club was a result of his poor relationship with Thomas Tuchel and an injury that the player picked up.
He told AS: “No one could have foreseen Lukaku’s difficulties, perhaps not so much environmental, because he knew the club, but rather in his relationship with the manager.
“He came from an almost father-son relationship with [Antonio] Conte, and that difference in approach conditioned him somewhat, along with the injury he sustained. If it hadn’t been for that, the story would have been different.”
Given how sour his return to Chelsea turned, Lukaku’s goal record was actually not the worst.
In total, the 32-year-old scored 15 goals in 44 appearances and helped the Blues to win the Club World Cup.
Still, given that they paid almost £100m for him, Lukaku’s second stint as a Chelsea player has to go down as a failure.
Last term, Lukaku had just eight touches of the ball in one game, so even at his age, the Belgium international can still improve.
Romelu Lukaku nearly joined Real Madrid
Despite his struggles at Chelsea and Manchester United, Lukaku has always been appreciated in the game.
According to Pastorello, at one stage, Carlo Ancelotti even explored signing him for Real Madrid.
“I must be honest and say there was an opportunity, at a time when it wasn’t clear where Romelu was going and with Ancelotti as coach,” Pastorello said.
“They were thinking of reinforcing the forward line, but they were already focused on the big signing of [Kylian] Mbappe for the following year and didn’t want to spend money on a loan.
“So let’s say there was an opportunity because Ancelotti would have liked it; he always held Lukaku in high regard, but unfortunately it didn’t materialise.”
It is really disappointing that Lukaku never worked out at Chelsea, especially after what he was able to accomplish at Inter in Italy.
He looked like he could be the final piece of Chelsea’s jigsaw puzzle. In the end, though, he proved to be a piece that Tuchel was not too fond of.
from Chelsea FC Latest News & Club Updates | The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/mdE3jXR
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