An open letter to Chelsea superstar striker Romelu Lukaku

Dear Romelu,

As someone who is a proponent of not overreacting to things and looking at things in a level-headed way, I’d be dishonest if I didn’t say I understand the outrage in the fanbase over some of the comments revealed from your interview with Sky Sports Italia, whenever it happened. Some, not all. Your comments about your feelings toward the situation of not playing are understandable and I said as much. However, nearly everything you said after that was problematic, and in some cases, insincere to the club you currently play for.

You were injured for the better part of two months with an ankle injury. A footballer’s ankle is what he uses to work, so an injury to the ankle has to be well managed otherwise it could reoccur, as injuries often do (see Kane, Harry). No Chelsea player under the current manager has been rushed back from injury, aside from N’Golo Kante, and the time it takes to go from being declared fully fit by the medical team to starting games often depends on the severity of the injury the player had, which makes sense.

Hakim Ziyech dislocated his shoulder against Villarreal in the UEFA Super Cup final and he missed the Crystal Palace Premier League opener, played eight minutes against Arsenal (with his shoulder in a sling) and missed the whole of the Liverpool game after. Even when he made his next start, Tuchel acknowledged the Moroccan was still not comfortable with his shoulder, and that was his shoulder, not his foot. He doesn’t even need his shoulder to play football that much. You had an injury to your ankle and was out for close to two months.

You returned from injury, and like every other player, you were eased back in. To insinuate that Tuchel left you out of the starting line-up when he did was due to playing a different system is insincere. It creates the narrative that you were left out for tactical reasons, which is not supported by anything other than the subjective opinion by yourself that you were fully fit, which you probably weren’t. Tuchel himself acknowledged long after you had starting appearing on the bench after your injury that you had not recovered yet.

The Blues did change to a different system from what they had been playing since Lukaku arrived, but that was for your benefit, not to keep you out of the line-up. Rather in an attempt to get you in a more familiar system. When you got injured, the system was changed back to what the other players are more familiar with after months with Tuchel. It’s public knowledge that this system benefits the defenders and the midfielders more than it does the forwards. Every forward has had to play roles they weren’t particularly comfortable with.

Ziyech played as the left winger against Malmo, Juventus and Leeds United. Christian Pulisic played as a right wingback some weeks back and even against Liverpool in the 2-2 draw. Callum Hudson-Odoi has played right wingback several times. Kai Havertz has played a plethora of positions across the midfield and front line. The point? Every forward has had to play in roles that aren’t their preferred roles. Hell, even in positions that aren’t their preferred position. Do you know the only plyer who hasn’t played a different position or even role from what he knows? You. You have only played center forward every time you’ve played, you haven’t been shoehorned into another position to get more game time. You actually have the least to complain about.

Your comments about having to play as a target man and what not is neither here nor there. The Lukaku Chelsea got attracted to and broke the bank for, was the Inter Milan Lukaku, and that Lukaku was a target man. You are a target man, Romelu. You can play different roles in the center forward position because you’re a world class striker and no world class striker can only play one role in that position. However, you shouldn’t talk like you’re being taken out of familiar territory. You ran in behind against Aston Villa in the 3-0 win earlier on in the season, I don’t think Tuchel admonished you for that. No one is stopping you from running in behind.

Your comments about leaving Inter Milan because of the Italian giants not renewing your contract is a bit two-faced. Your agent went to great length to make the case that the fact it was Chelsea, had a significant bearing on your transfer. At several points, you have also given the impression that you wouldn’t have left Inter were it not Chelsea at the negotiating table. Did you leave Inter because of how they “treated” you, or did you leave Inter because it was Chelsea calling and you just couldn’t say no? Which is it? It cannot be both. Inter has financial problems and it sold its biggest assets in Achraf Hakimi and you. This indicates a club that needed money and you making these comments about leaving because of them not renewing, is a betrayal to even them, because you make it sound like they had a choice and chose to sell you. You make it sound like they did something unfair to you, when actually the Inter owners were in a tight spot and they had to keep the club running.

Your comments about returning to Inter, according to you “not at the end of your career but when you’re still at the top level,” are just plain confusing. It sure sounds like you’ve already put a clock on your time at Chelsea. You’re 28 years old now, at the end of your contract here, you’d be at least 32 years old, and you’d likely be in the decline by then depending on how you handle your loss of pace and all the things that come with being an older player.

However, that is not as off-putting as your comments about Inter fans being the best in the world. You are an active Chelsea player, for the second time in your career. It is understandable to love Inter fans as they supported you through your highest point in your career. The fans who sang your name while you delivered their first league title in 10 years would be special to anyone. To call them the best in the world while being a Chelsea player is disrespectful to Chelsea fans who preferred you to Erling Haaland and any other striking option on the market because they thought they’d have a bond with you that they wouldn’t have with any other player. Fans who defended you when a large chunk of the football world was still stereotyping you as a bad-touch, heavy Manchester United player that had issues the last time you were in the league.

You may not think we’re the best in the world, but you are Chelsea’s player, and the Blues’ faithful  does sing your name every week. We did not think you were the best option on the market, but these fans clamored for you anyway. They shouted down fans who tried to make cases for getting other players. Claiming you always have Inter Milan on your mind makes any sane person wonder if you literally always have them on your mind. Look, you don’t owe Inter fans—or any club’s fans really— an explanation for a transfer move, but you, more than anyone, knows that fans are extremely emotional people. They would be unhappy when a player they hold I high regard leaves, it comes with the job, there’s no need to try to win back their love if you’ve left. You cannot have your your cake and and eat it too. You cannot have the Inter fans love you the same way now as they did when you were still there, life is all about tradeoffs. That interview was a gross error of judgement, I would’ve said ill-advised but I don’t even know if you were advised.

You may not have meant many of the things that are being interpreted, but you’re a prominent football figure and you know that your words carry that much more weight. Many say you’re very intelligent and there’s many scenarios to back that up. However, that intelligence counts against you now. No, you should not be cursed and abused or booed off the pitch, but the fans are extremely irritated by those comments and they have every right to be.

Sincerely,

Olaoluwa