Chelsea will return to the Champions this week with a trip to Italy to face Antonio Conte’s Napoli – with a few familiar faces in the squad
Abbie Meehan Sports Writer U-35s
09:00, 28 Jan 2026
Romelu Lukaku regrets joining Chelsea for the second time(Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Romelu Lukaku admitted he regretted returning to Chelsea in 2021 and should never have left Italy. Now, the veteran striker is back to face the Blues with Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old will likely have to wait to make an impact from the bench following a long period out with a thigh injury. However, he will reunite with the Premier League club he spent two stints at, one of which he heavily regrets.
Lukaku joined Inter Milan in 2019 after a difficult spell with Manchester United, winning the Serie A, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italia over two seasons. Following this success in Italy, Chelsea submitted an £85million bid and Lukaku told his club to accept the Blues’ advances.
A then-record-breaking offer of £97.5m was accepted by the Italians and Lukaku returned to England for his second stint at Stamford Bridge. However, it didn’t turn out how he would’ve hoped and the forward admitted feeling shame in how he left Inter.
Lukaku said: “I don’t think any of it should have happened the way it did. The way I left Inter and the way I communicated with the Inter fans.
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“I’m annoyed about that because it’s not the right time now but it wasn’t the right time when I left either. I always said that I love Inter and I’ll play for them again. I really hope so. I fell in love with Italy.
“Now is the right time to talk about it and tell people what really happened, without saying anything bad about anyone, because I’m not like that.
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“I want to really apologise to the Inter fans because I don’t think I should have left Inter the way I did. I should have spoken to you guys first, especially after everything you did for me, for my family, my mum, my son. I’ll never forget that.
“I hope from the bottom of my heart to go back to Inter and not at the end of my career but when I’m still at a good enough level to win more trophies.”
Not long after this confession, Lukaku returned to Inter on loan for the 2022/23 season. During an event to present the club’s kit for the new campaign, the striker further stressed his initial exit was a “mistake.”
The striker regretted returning to London(Image: Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Now Lukaku is winning titles with Napoli(Image: SSC NAPOLI/SSC NAPOLI via Getty Images)
Lukaku said: “The biggest challenge of my career will be this season here. I left. It was a mistake.
“Now I am happy to be wearing this jersey, the team knows what we need to do, it’ll be a great challenge this season and we need to continue like this.
“I realised last season when I was in England, just how important Inter are in the world. The club’s profile is improving on an international scale, the social media approach is really important too and you can see how we act in the locker room, in training, our hugs and jokes.
“Milan is a wonderful city and that is why I kept the old apartment when I went to London, because my mother was coming here all the time and I wanted to return too.”
Now, Lukaku is plying his trade for current Serie A champions Napoli and will reunite with his former club in a tense Champions League clash this week.
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