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How good actually was Romelu Lukaku?
Oct 21, 2025
Romelu Lukaku: from Anderlecht wonderkid to Premier League star, Inter Milan hero, and Belgium’s greatest-ever goalscorer. This is the story of how Lukaku went from mocked to magnificent — a striker rebuilt through setbacks, goals and redemption. Featuring his time at Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Roma, Napoli, and Belgium’s golden generation, Matt explores every chapter of his incredible journey. The power, the pressure, the perception — and the truth behind it all.
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0:00
Romelu Lukaku might be the most confusing striker of this generation
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On one hand, he's a record breaker, Belgium's all-time top goalscorer, a man who's hit double figures in goals almost everywhere he's been
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And on the other hand, he's been called clumsy, heavy-footed, a flat-track bully who disappears when it matters most
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One week, he's dominating defenders on the biggest stage. The next, he's a meme with a compilation of miss-hitters
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and heavy first touches shared a million times online. Before the criticism, before the jokes
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Lukaku was a teenage phenomenon in Belgium. He wasn't fighting against perception
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He was rewriting it, shattering records before he was even old enough to vote
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and still with some school homework to be completed. This is the story of how a boy wanderer and elect
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became one of football's most expensive, divisive and enigmatic stars. This is Respect the Name, episode five with Romelu Lukaku
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So, but here's Lukaku, inside of the face, into the net. After exploding onto the scene at Anderlecht
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Lukaku wasn't just Belgium's next big thing. He was Europe's. At 16, he became the pro league's youngest ever goal scorer
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By 17, he had a league title and a golden boot to his name
1:20
And it wasn't long before the transfer rumours spiralled. Real Madrid scouts are spotted in the stands
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AC Milan was supposedly preparing a massive bid for his signature. But one club made the most sense
1:31
Chelsea. A club where Romelu Lukaku's idol left his unforgettable mark on not only English
1:37
but European football, Didier Drogba's club. In 2011, at just 18 years old, Chelsea signed him
1:43
for around £20m, a dream move. Or at least that's how it looked, because the reality was harsher
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Chelsea were stacked with stars. Drogba, Torres, Enelka, Sturridge. Lukaku barely got a look in
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He managed just 12 appearances in his debut season and didn't even score a single league goal
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The frustration really showed as he famously refused to join in the celebrations
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after Chelsea's Champions League triumph in 2012, admitting years later that he felt like a bystander and not really a contributor
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It wasn't exactly the dream start to life at Stamford Bridge, and although it wouldn't be his last shot at it, we'll get to that later
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For the time being, the Belgian had to make do with a few years apart from his dream club
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Firstly, with a loan deal to West Brom in 2012-2013, where the Premier League really saw what he could do
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Now, I'm not going to reel off every good loan spell here in the Premier League
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but I'm struggling to think of another young player going out on loan to a fellow Premier League side who has had a better loan spell than this 17 league goals in one season including a ridiculous final day hat against Sir Alex Ferguson Manchester United in a 5 draw
3:02
basically stealing the headlines in Fergie's last ever match. This wasn't just a good season for a
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teenager, this was ridiculous. Yet for some reason Chelsea didn't see fit to give him another chance
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despite the fact that his 17-goal haul meant that he outscored every Chelsea player that season
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Everton, however, did. For me, this is where we saw Lukaku blossom into the top-level centre-forward that we know he is
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In four seasons at Goodison Park, he scored 68 league goals in 141 games
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That is a ratio that put him alongside the league's best. He bullied defenders with his strength, sprinted past them at frightening speed
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and most impressively, finished with both feet. That's quite rare. In his final season, he scored 25 Premier League goals, finishing second to only Harry Kane
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But the critics, they never went away. People said his first touch was too heavy
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He only scored against weaker teams. He lacked the finesse of a good striker
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Pundits regularly overlooked the context that he was carrying a mid-table Everton side
4:09
into European football almost single-handedly. When he turned down a contract renewal, Everton fans felt betrayed
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But the truth was obvious. the big man needed a bigger stage the sharks were circling again united chelsea again even
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by munich were linked and at 24 years old with his goal scoring record there was always going
4:28
to be big money on the table the exact amount 75 million pounds from none other than manchester
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united this was it this was the chance to prove that he wasn't just a stat padder but a world
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class number nine. Jose Mourinho told him he could be the new drogba, handed him the number nine
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shirt and gave him the starting spot at a top side that he'd been craving since his dreams were
4:51
dashed at Chelsea. And he started on fire. Two goals in his Premier League debut against West
4:57
Ham. Goals in the Champions League. 11 in his first 10 games. Old Trafford thought they had
5:03
their new talisman and why wouldn't they? His first season ended with 27 goals in all competitions
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He scored in the FA Cup semi-final, he scored in the league against Chelsea and Liverpool and looked like a proper United striker
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In his second season though, the problems deepened where big chances missed in big games combined with a change in manager just seemed to throw him off his game
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Mourinho was out, Solskjaer was brought in and he often found himself on the bench for a new, young, exciting Marcus Rashford
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Even when Lukaku did deliver, the narrative didn't change as he was seen as the wrong fit for Manchester United
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Granted, he wasn't the most typical United striker we've ever seen over the years
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Not as technically gifted as Wayne Rooney, although let's be honest, who is
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Not as clinical as Rud Van Nistroy not as elegant as Dimitar Berbatov but the numbers tell a different story 42 goals in 96 appearances is not bad at all The weight of the shirt though the spotlight at Old Trafford
5:58
and the endless criticism wore him down. And by the summer of 2019, at just 26, United cut ties with Lukaku
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and he did, well, what seems to be a well-trodden path these days
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Swap the Premier League problems for success in Syria. If England mocked him, Italy crowned him
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Under Antonio Conte at Inter Milan, Lukaku was rebuilt. From the first game, he looked different, sharper, hungrier, more complete
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In his debut Serie A season, he scored 23 goals. The following year, 24, with 11 assists to boot and Inter's first Scudetto in 11 years
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His partnership with Arturo Martinez, dubbed the Lula duo, ripped Serie A apart
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Lukaku dominating derbies, scoring four times against AC Milan in just two years
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In one iconic derby, he sprinted from his own half to score
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This is the Romelu Lukaku that everyone knew was there all along. Conte's system was perfect for him
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He redefined his hold-up play, made him press smarter, and unleashed him as a counter-attacking machine
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All of a sudden, the clumsy striker from Manchester looked like one of the world's best forwards
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In 2021, he was named Serie A's MVP, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo
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For the first time, Lukaku wasn't mocked. He was adored. The fans loved him, his teammates trusted him, and he was finally delivering on the biggest stage
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Inter's title win wasn't just a trophy. It was proof that Lukaku could be the man at the top club
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So when Chelsea came calling again, it felt like destiny. A chance to put things right where it all began in the big leagues
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But instead, again, the fairy tale very quickly turned into another nightmare
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£97 million. Chelsea's record signing. Lukaku was back at Stamford Bridge not as a prospect, but as a Serie A champion
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His debut against Arsenal, astonishingly good. It left fans thinking, this is it
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Drogba's air has finally arrived. But within months, it all fell apart after the infamous Sky Italia interview
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Lukaku admitted he wasn't happy that he missed Inter, and he criticised Thomas Tuchel's change in tactics
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It wasn't just bad PR, it destroyed the trust. The fans turned on him, the manager benched him
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and suddenly a £97m striker looked like a misfit all over again
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On the pitch, it just didn't click. Tuchel wanted fluid movement, false nine play
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Lukaku wanted to run channels and be direct like he'd done under Conte. By Christmas, he wasn't even first choice
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By the summer, Chelsea had shipped him out just a year after smashing their transfer record
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In a career full of ups downs goals and misses that became the biggest what of it all Now the important thing is that after a poor choice in career move and it happened to a lot of players that you don make the same mistake twice so you can see why there were some question marks about his decision to make yet another
8:55
return this time to inter Milan despite his previous success at the club inter welcomed him
9:00
back the fans less so at first but when he scored in the Coppa Italia and Champions League runs
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the old connection returned that will forever be the bittersweet part of a relationship between
9:11
football fans and star strikers even when you hate them you know you'll be cheering their name
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as soon as they score at this point it may sound like a bit of a broken record but yet again the
9:22
caveat to all of Lukaku's success and goal scoring was that the big moments passed him by and none
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more so than in the Champions League final in 2023 Man City with the opponents a chance to get one
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over on an old English rival one nil down with a few minutes to go and chance after chance goes
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begging for Inter, especially Lukaku. But if this particular disappointing career theme was
9:51
repeating itself over and over, you shouldn't be surprised that the theme of success came back
9:56
around too. Following on from Inter Milan came a goal-scoring spree at Roma, Mourinho is Roma
10:02
no less, followed by another Serie A title, this time again under Antonio Conte, but in the
10:08
blue of Napoli, England may have never felt like home. But in Italy, the system, the tactics
10:14
the culture, it all fits. Whatever else you say about Lukaku, in Syria, he's always been unstoppable
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For Belgium, however, at international level, there is no debate about Lukaku's career. He's
10:26
their greatest ever goal scorer. 89 goals as of September 2025, in just over 120 appearances
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the all-time top goalscorer by a mile. For more than a decade, when Belgium have needed a goal
10:39
they've turned to him, and he delivers more than anyone else ever has
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So, who is Romelu Lukaku? To some, the striker with the dodgy first touch
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who couldn't really adapt to any style other than Conte's. To others, he is one of the most consistent goalscorers of his era
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and the ultimate definition of an absolute handful for defenders to deal with
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The truth? He's probably both. And that is what makes this story so fascinating
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More than 350 career goals, over 120 Premier League goals. More than Drogba, Van Persie, Cantona, Fowler
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Massive names. A Scudetto winner. A Serie A MVP. Belgium's record scorer
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That's the true measure of Lukaku's career and always should be. He's been one of the defining strikers of his generation
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And when he retires, the memes will fade, but the numbers won't
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Romelu Lukaku, respect the name. for Lukaku! Lukaku! Delightful finish! Lukaku! 1-0
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Lukaku, room for the shots! And he finds the corner
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