Chelsea Striker Romelu Lukaku Hits Out At Cristiano Ronaldo Comparisons

Despite their similarities in playing style, Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku doesn’t like being compared to his fellow striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

Apart from the incredible nose for goals, Lukaku and Ronaldo have more things in common, including the leagues they've competed in. After becoming arch-rivals at Serie A, Ronaldo and Lukaku will cross paths once again in the English Premier League, with the former joining Manchester United and the latter already playing for Chelsea.

Though the pair’s career trajectories resemble one another, Lukaku insisted that comparing him to Ronaldo is “useless.”

"Don't ever compare me to Cristiano Ronaldo, never," Lukaku told reporters during a recent press conference. "Cristiano Ronaldo is, for me, in the top three best players in the history of football. I'm not going to rank him from first to third but he's in there.”

"What he has achieved in football today for players of my generation is something exceptional,” he added. "I was lucky enough to play against him in Italy and now that he's back in the Premier League, it's all good for English football. As for the rest, comparing statistics and all that, it's useless."

Indeed, the Chelsea striker’s take on the subject has not changed one bit. Last year, Lukaku also implied that Ronaldo is the better player. However, he remains confident that he can someday be on the same footing as the likes of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

“I’m one of the top five strikers in the world,” the Belgian stressed. “I can’t do anything wrong from a tactical point of view or even the movements. If Cristiano Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi or [Robert] Lewandowski have exceeded their limits, why can’t I do it too?”

Lukaku is continuing where he left off at Inter Milan in terms of goal scoring this season with Chelsea.

In his maiden appearance for the Blues against Arsenal, the 28-year-old made his presence felt on the pitch by scoring the very first goal of the match, something that impressed Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel.

“Romelu’s a very smart guy and a very democratic leader,” Tuchel said after the game. “He was dangerous throughout. There’s room for improvement and we need to work on details but it was a very good debut.”

“I certainly think that nobody likes to play against him, everyone is aware of his physicality and his link-up play and ability to attack the space,” the manager pointed out. “He gives another dimension to our game. He’s got the whole package; he was always a Chelsea fan whose dream was to make it here.”