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Everton striker Romelu Lukaku has given his most revealing interview yet about his departure from Chelsea FC, reiterating that it was his decision to leave Stamford Bridge and thanking Jos Mourinho for facilitating the move
Former Chelsea FC manager Jos Mourinho came in for a lot of criticism for allowing an extremely gifted young footballer like Romelu Lukaku to leave the club, particularly in times when the Blues’ own strikers were misfiring and the Belgian was finding the back of the net with regularity.
However, the 22-year-old has revealed in a recent interview that it was in fact his choice to leave Stamford Bridge in search of first-team football on a regular basis, and the Portuguese helped him facilitate the move.
Lukaku already has an impressive 13 goals so far this season, and has now scored in seven consecutive Premier League games — just 4 shy of Jamie Vardy’s record of 11 set earlier this season.
The Belgium international is quoted by the Guardian as saying: “Choices were made by me. By me. Not by them. Everyone says it is Mourinhoa s fault but it is not his fault because I made the decision. I went to his office to ask if I could go. He was the first one to say: a Good luck.a
a I signed the deal with Everton at 11 oa clock and the first text message I got on my old BlackBerry was from Mourinho saying: a Good luck, do your best and I will see you next season.a
“He was the first. Nobody knows that and that is why for me he gets immense respect. It is really sad he has to go. He is a great character and a great man. Even though there were words said in the media, I never looked at it because I know what he did and not a lot of managers would do that.”
Right striker for Chelsea FC at the wrong time
More than anything else, it was Lukaku’s desire to be involved every week and his firm belief that doing so would get him to the top that sealed his Chelsea FC fate. As good as he is now, his chances of starting every week for the Blues were minimal a season or two ago.
The Belgian cannot be faulted for accepting a step down in terms of his employers’ stature to improve as a footballer, and this season, it looks like his decision is paying off. Lukaku should be able to get to 20 goals this season fairly comfortably, and consequently, Europe’s top clubs will definitely come knocking for him in the summer transfer window.