Former Inter Striker Reveals How Lukaku Forced Him Out Of The Club

Written By Onyeka Daniel

There has been a lot of mystery surrounding the rift between Romelu Lukaku and his former club, Inter Milan that prompted the Belgian striker to reject the chance to rejoin the club two seasons ago, but there could finally be some hints about what really went down at that time, as told by a player that was also present at that time.

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The Belgian’s second spell lasted just one campaign. It was a frustrating one as he struggled with injury, and ended with a shock rift between the striker and the club. For former Inter and Roma striker, Edin Dzeko, he defined his Inter exit as a ‘strange decision’ as he recalled the club’s choice to part ways with him to make room for Lukaku.

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Dzeko played 52 games across all competitions for Inter in the 2022-2023 season, which also saw him start in the Champions League final against Manchester City. He scored four goals from 13 games during that Champions League campaign, and Inzaghi started him over Lukaku in the final.

While he had a relevant role in Simone Inzaghi’s side, Inter eventually decided not to renew his contract as they planned to sign Lukaku for a second time from Chelsea at the end of a seasonal loan, a deal that eventually collapsed paving the way for Marcus Thuram’s arrival at the Stadio San Siro.

“If they chose this way, it means that everyone agreed, coach and executives,” Dzeko told Gazzetta about Inter’s decision to let him leave in order to keep Lukaku at the San Siro.“To me, it looked like a strange decision, because you could keep a player who started all the important games, including the Champions League final.

“At no cost and have four strikers in your squad. “It looked very strange to me, that’s all. Then, I understood it with time and respected it, also because everyone treated me very well at Inter.” Inzaghi started Dzeko over Lukaku on several occasions during the 2022-2023 season, ending up drawing criticism..

But the Bosnian striker believes the coach had a reason to do so. “Everyone can talk… But I say: do you think that a coach can choose to field a player who is not as good as the one he keeps on the bench? And doing it in a Champions League final?,” Dzeko added. “I remained calm, I knew what I could give to the team.

“For sure Lukaku was not happy not to start, it’s normal.“But then you come on and make a difference, if you can: he had 30 minutes [in the Champions League final], he came with the scoreline still being 0-0, and then…”.

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Dzeko has since moved on to join Fenerbahce after leaving Inter, scoring 21 goals from 36 games in the Turkish top-tier in his first season at the club. In an earlier interview, Lukaku had revealed that he felt that he and Lautaro Martinez “combined perfectly” while at Inter, just like he’s currently doing with Kvaratskhelia at Napoli.

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