Lukaku apologises to Chelsea fans and confirms his commitment to the club

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 4 Jan 2022 14:17 CST
• 3 min read

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku apologised to fans of the Premier League side on Tuesday, confirming that he will now strive to prove his commitment to the team for the foreseeable future.

The Belgium international was dropped for Sunday’s match against Liverpool following an interview with Sky Italia, in which Lukaku stated that he would have preferred to stay at Inter and regretted making the move to Chelsea because he didn’t suit Thomas Tuchel’s tactics.

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After being dropped from the team, Tuchel confirmed in a press conference that Lukaku had apologised for what he deemed comments that “weren’t intentional”, before the player took to social media to directly apologise to Chelsea fans.

“To the fans, I’m sorry for the upset that I caused,” said the Chelsea striker. “You guys know the connection that I have had with this club since my teenage years. So I totally understand you guys being upset.

“Obviously it’s up to me now to restore your trust and I’ll do my best to show my commitment every day on the training ground and in the game to try and make sure we win games.

“Also to the manager I apologise and I said to my teammates and the board because I think it was not the right moment.

“I want to move forward from this and make sure that we start winning football games and I perform for the team in the best manner.”

Why was Lukaku dropped in the first place?

Chelsea, who will host former manager Antonio Conte when Spurs come to Stamford Bridge, were without Lukaku in their thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the weekend, with Tuchel deciding to drop the Belgium international due to his comments to Sky Italia.

Lukaku said to the Italian arm of Sky Sports in December: "Physically I'm doing great. I'm just not very happy with the situation, but that's normal. I think the boss has decided to play a different formation but I have to stick at it and get on with it professionally."

He went on to regretfully speak about his departure from Inter in the summer, which reportedly angered his Chelsea team-mates. "I don't think any of it should have happened the way it did," he said. "The way I left Inter and the way I communicated with the Inter fans. I'm annoyed about that because it's not the right time now but it wasn't the right time when I left either.

"I always said that I love Inter and I'll play for them again. I really hope so. I fell in love with Italy... I hope from the bottom of my heart to go back to Inter and not at the end of my career but when I'm still at a good enough level to win more trophies."