The father hopes to fix his relationship with his son: ‘I hope this interview can open a door. I think: one day we will make peace. I hope it with all my heart, because it’s so sad as it is.’
Roger Lukaku, a former striker and Romelu Lukaku’s father, has given a lengthy interview to La Dernière Heure, a sports newspaper in Belgium. The two don’t have a great relationship after the father’s decision to separate from Rom’s mother.
In this interview, Roger shows that he still closely follows his son’s career and eventually wants to mend relations with his family. “I hope this interview can open a door. I think: one day all this will be normal. I hope with all my heart, because it is really sad.”
On the jeers at San Siro
“I honestly felt horrible, I felt like if the boos were for me. It saddens me to see how he has been treated in Italy. I turned off the television halfway. It’s unfair towards him, stress can also cause physical damage. When you see what he has done for Inter… they are ungrateful, I turned off the TV during halftime.”
On Romelu’s move to Roma:
“He made the right choice going to Roma. But I would have chosen Saudi Arabia immediately; he should have gone to Al Hilal. How much would he have earned? €45 million a year? And he would have signed a three-year contract… He should have talked to Tedesco (Belgium’s head coach) to see if he could keep his place in the national team. Like Ronaldo, Romelu has two children. He’s already 30. At some point, you have to think about yourself. But he wanted to stay in Europe.”
On the 4 goals against Azerbaijan:
What I saw against Azerbaijan was my trademark. I explained to him these movements and how a striker should avoid the offside trap. If he had stayed on the field, he would have scored six or seven goals.”
In 2018, he said Romelu would become the best striker in the world.
“I don’t take back my words. The only difference with Haaland is that the Norwegian won the Champions League and is the top scorer in the Premier League. Romelu was unlucky to lose the final. But otherwise, how many better number 9 in the world do you see?”
