$116M Premier League Star Admits Joining Chelsea Was A 'Mistake'

Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku, who recently moved from Chelsea to Inter Milan on loan, admitted that returning to Stamford Bridge was a “mistake.”

Lukaku helped Inter Milan win Serie A in the 2020-21 season before leaving the Italian club for a lucrative move to Chelsea. The Belgian striker had already played for the Blues at the beginning of his career but had not made any impact.

Chelsea re-signed Lukaku at $116 million in the summer of 2021 but the move backfired as the forward was never happy in London because he had realized he shouldn’t have left Inter Milan.

"The biggest challenge of my career will be this season here. I left. It was a mistake. Now I am happy to be wearing this jersey, the team knows what we need to do, it’ll be a great challenge this season and we need to continue like this. I realized last season when I was in England, just how important Inter are in the world," Lukaku said during an event to present Inter’s new kit for the 2022-23 campaign, according to Goal.com.

Lukaku had scored 30 goals in 40 competitive appearances for Inter Milan during the 2020-21 season. The following season, which saw Lukaku return to Chelsea, the 29-year-old striker netted only 15 goals in 44 games.

"The club’s [Iner Milan] profile is improving on an international scale, the social media approach is really important too and you can see how we act in the locker room, in training, our hugs, and jokes. Milan is a wonderful city and that is why I kept the old apartment when I went to London because my mother was coming here all the time and I wanted to return too," Lukaku added.

Loaning Lukaku to Inter Milan ahead of the 2022-23 season was Chelsea’s first transfer business under the new ownership, which happened just a year after the Blues had signed the player at a club-record fee.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Tuchel opened up about Chelsea’s decision to allow Lukaku to leave, saying, "When we had the agent and Romelu's point of view, we thought it was best to take the decision that we took and Todd had my full support."