Chelsea outcast hints at Saudi move

Romalu Lukaku says he would be open to a move to Saudi Arabia, with Chelsea keen to finally offload the striker.

The Blues are set to block loan moves for the Belgian in favour of selling him permanently this summer.

Lukaku returned to Chelsea £97.5million in the summer of 2021 but his second spell in West London has been nothing short of a disaster.

He has not played for the club since the 2021-22 campaign, having spent the last two seasons on loan at Inter Milan and Roma respectively.

Another move to Serie A has been mooted but the 31-year-old has now talked up the idea of moving to the Saudi Pro League.

He told HLN: “Saudi Arabia wouldn’t stop me. The level will only rise there. To a much higher level than many people think.

“More and more football players will tend to play there. Also because of how the fans there experience football.

“The infrastructure still needs to be improved, but all major European top clubs know: ‘Saudi Arabia is coming’ – you already see that in boxing, golf, Formula One.”

🚨🇸🇦 Romelu Lukaku: “Saudi Arabia wouldn’t stop me. The level will only rise there. To a much higher level than many people think”.

“More and more footballers will tend to play there. All the major European top clubs know that: Saudi Arabia is coming”, told HLN. pic.twitter.com/dTEtrxDUNv

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 6, 2024

‘It’s my choice’

In separate interview with RTL, Lukaku suggested he already had already made up his mind on departing Stamford Bridge.

He said: “I’m going to decide. I am in control of my situation. I’m going to make a choice and once I explain it, everyone will agree with me.

“Look, every time I decided to stay or leave somewhere, certain factors – for example my relationship with the coach – turned out to be the right choice.

“It’s like having a relationship with a woman. If we don’t click anymore, why stay together?’

The striker also opened the door to finishing his career at Anderlecht, the club he started at.

On a return to Belgium, Lukaku added: “It will happen. And much earlier than people think.”