Romelu Lukaku has spoken about leaving Chelsea, saying he was completely excluded from the team.
The 31-year-old returned to Chelsea from Inter Milan in 2021 for a massive £97.5million, after playing for the club seven years prior.
After a promising start, Lukaku’s performance declined, and he quickly became unpopular after an interview where he expressed his unhappiness.
He was then loaned out twice before being permanently sold to Napoli for £38m.
Now, seven months after leaving, Lukaku has revealed what happened in his final months at Chelsea.
Speaking to Corriere dello Sport, Lukaku said: “I wasn’t the only one sidelined at Chelsea. Aubameyang and Ziyech were also not part of the plans.
“They made us change in the youth locker room. It’s business, the club tells you it doesn’t want you anymore and often also where you’ll end up.
“But if you want to leave, even for serious reasons, you don’t have the option. They drag it out until the last moment, they wear you down.
“Clubs have relationships with the media, and it doesn’t take much to put a player in a difficult position or create the wrong image.
“Believe me, I’ve seen things I never thought I would. One day, I’d like to explain all of this to younger players, who is really working for them and who is working against them.”
The striker also claimed that his image was misrepresented in England.
He added: “In England they had the wrong idea. For them I was lazy, but I never reacted to the criticism.
“I am someone who does my job and then goes home.
“In Italy the opinion has changed, here I am seen as a worker. I am now playing better than when I was at Inter.”
Lukaku has scored nine goals and made eight assists in 27 games for Napoli this season.
