This archive report was first published on 21 May 2020.
May 21, 2020 - Romelu Lukaku has spoken out against his former Chelsea coach, Andre Villas-Boas, for not giving him sufficient opportunities to develop as a young player.
Lukaku joined Chelsea in 2011 for approximately £19 million, but he rarely featured in his first season, making only 12 appearances, with just four starts, three of which were in the League Cup.
He eventually moved to West Brom and Everton on loan before joining Manchester United and now Inter Milan.
Lukaku attributes his difficulty in breaking through at Chelsea to Villas-Boas' approach, which he believes hindered his growth as a player.
“Di Matteo told me that I would stay with the group until after the final,” Lukaku said in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws.
He praised his successor, Roberto di Matteo, for making a greater effort to include him in the team, saying, “Di Matteo approached me completely differently, he immediately involved me in everything. That should have been much earlier.”
Lukaku expressed his gratitude to di Matteo for giving him the opportunity to play and develop as a player, but he made it clear that he will never forgive Villas-Boas for his treatment.
