Romelu Lukaku has offered a direct apology to Chelsea supporters in a bid to build bridges after his controversial interview revealing unhappiness at Stamford Bridge.
The club-record signing has already said sorry internally at Chelsea and returned to training, but has now moved to address Blues fans personally.
The Belgium striker fell in hot water with Chelsea after telling Sky Sport Italy last week of his dissatisfaction at the club, just months after his £98million summer transfer from Inter Milan.
Lukaku was omitted from Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Liverpool, but is now in contention to feature in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
“To the fans I’m sorry for the upset that I’ve caused,” Lukaku told Chelsea’s official club website.
“You guys know the connection I have 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 every day to show commitment on the training ground and in games to make sure we win games.
“And also to the manager, my team-mates and the board, I apologise, because I think it was not the right moment, also.
“And I want to move forward from this and make sure that we start winning football games and make sure that I start performing for the team in the best manner.”
Chelsea’s board and senior players backed manager Thomas Tuchel in his decision to drop Lukaku for the draw with Liverpool, leaving the German fully vindicated.
Lukaku’s fulsome apologies have now paved the way for a full return to first-team action.
Former Manchester United and Everton player Lukaku insisted his Sky Sport Italy interview was only ever designed as a respectful goodbye to Inter fans – but that he now understands the damage caused by his comments.
Culled from Yahoo news
