Romelu Lukaku’s lawyer Sébastien Ledure admits new Chelsea owners played a key role in the Belgian striker’s return to Inter as the Nerazzurri directors were not on good terms with Roman Abramovich’s executives.
Lukaku has returned to Inter on loan, ten months after his €113m move to Chelsea. He failed to justify his price tag under Thomas Tuchel, scoring only 15 goals in 44 appearances at Stamford Bridge.
Ledure held talks with Inter and Chelsea, while Lukaku’s agent Federico Pastorello was surprisingly not involved in negotiations.
“He [Lukaku] has preferred that his agent [Pastorello] not be involved in this matter given his close links with the former management of Chelsea,” Ledure told Belgian paper L’Avenir.
“Romelu has not yet made a decision regarding the future with his agent, but he did not want that a risk of conflict of interest could interfere in one of the most difficult operations in football today.
“I went to see him [Lukaku] before he left on vacation. He knew everything and he attended the most important conferences. In my work philosophy, I represent the player, but he must know everything. There is total transparency. He is in control of the situation.”
The deal was also completed thanks to Lukaku’s representative at Roc Nation.
“Yes, in the sense that they know the new owner of Chelsea and that has facilitated a more ‘American’ approach to the matter.”
“The question was: how can a player who was sold for more than €100m to a club go back to the same club that says there is no money to take him back?
“And, on top of that, you should know that during the transfer last year, relations between the former management of Chelsea and the management of Inter were very tense. Without the change of ownership at Chelsea, I highly doubt that this transfer could have been made.”
Ledure was asked if that means Lukaku would not have returned to Inter without the war in Ukraine.
“Maybe, yes, but don’t make it your title. Maybe we would have found a solution, but it would have been even more difficult.”
When did the negotiation start? Had Inter contacted Lukaku after his famous interview in December?
“This interview was from the heart and was perhaps awkward. It was an initiative that he [Lukau] took on his own and that he probably wouldn’t do again,” the striker’s lawyer admitted.
“He suffered the consequences for the rest of the season, as it weighed down his daily work environment. But he quickly made it clear to me that, given his 29 years and the fact that he is at the peak of his career, he could not afford to lose another year. It’s not a secret that he was not on the same wavelength as his coach. But the negotiations only started at the end of the season.”
Is €8m the price paid by Inter for the loan of Lukaku?
“You should ask the clubs involved, but it is a price in line with the prices of a loan.”
How much will Lukaku earn at Inter?
“I read that he has cut his salary by a third or a half. It’s not true. He will be the highest-paid player in Serie A. All three parties made concessions which are smart. Our job was to get the best possible deal for my client, not for Chelsea or Inter. Romelu is paying us, not the clubs.”
Ledure confirmed that Lukaku had received offers to leave Chelsea permanently, but he only wanted to return to Inter.
“Big clubs whose names I won’t mention,” the lawyer said.
“But these leads were never really serious because Romelu decided very quickly that he wanted to go to Inter. He spoke several times with the Inter coach Simone Inzaghi – as he had with Conte before signing for Inter in 2019 – to make sure we were on the same page.”
Inter don’t have an option to sign him permanently, have they already discussed his future? What will happen next summer?
“There are still three years left in his contract. But no one can say anything about that.”