Inter Milan fans gathered to show all is forgiven as they gave Romelu Lukaku a rapturous reception as the striker undergoes his medical ahead of his return to the club on a season-long loan deal.
The masses of supporters perhaps came as a surprise after the Inter ultras previously urged their fellow fans not to welcome the striker with their flags and scarves upon his return to Italy, but that seemed to be forgotten about when he arrived.
The Belgian left the San Siro for Chelsea for £98million last summer, and while he made a good start to life back in west London, he soon struggled for form and found himself down the pecking order under boss Thomas Tuchel.
Inter Milan fans show all is forgiven as they give striker Romelu Lukaku a rapturous reception
It came as a surprise after the ultras urged their fellow supporters not to welcome the striker
The Belgian striker left the San Siro for Chelsea for £98million last summer, but will now return
After an under-par campaign that saw him net just eight Premier League goals, Lukaku’s exit seemed inevitable and Inter have been locked in talks with Chelsea over a loan return, which will see them pay £6.9m to secure him for the season.
Although his return didn’t go down too well with the Inter ultras, known as the Curva Nord, who released a statement on social media to bemoan the player’s ‘behaviour’ last summer and said that he will have earn back their love through ‘humility and sweat’.
The statement went on to read that despite being considered a ‘king’ during his initial stint with the club, Lukaku will return to Inter as ‘one like many’.
Inter’s Curva Nord ultras released a statement saying Romelu Lukaku ‘betrayed’ the club
The Belgian will now have to earn back the fans’ love through ‘humility and sweat’
The ultras went on to state: ‘Since Lukaku’s return to Inter is very likely, some points need to be made clear: the Curva Nord supports Inter and will not make any objection to the player (despite last summer’s behaviour).
‘Given this, no one should go to welcome him with scarves or banners of the Curva or of the groups that compose it,’ they added.
‘Everything that in the future will eventually be done towards him will have to earn it on the field with humility and sweat.
‘He was supported (and treated) like a king, now he is one like many.’
Romelu Lukaku was influential in delivering Inter’s first Scudetto since 2010 last year but will return as ‘one like many’ the ultras said
The Curva Nord group added that they were very ‘upset’ at his actions last summer and while he could atone for his ‘betrayal’, they are actions that are seldom forgotten by supporters.
‘Let us also be clear to everyone that we will never cheer against Lukaku if he wears the Inter shirt again,’ it read.
‘However, we invite all Inter fans not to fall into the opposite trap, that of running immediately and drooling after him.
‘In addition to a clear instinctive emotional aspect, pretending that nothing has happened, would only give a further acceleration to that process that has been going on for years aimed at making us all stupid and supine consumers.
‘We are not gentlemen at the mercy of the moves of players and clubs. We took note of Lukaku’s betrayal and we were very upset. To a player these things can be forgiven over time, but they remain.’
Lukaku’s mural outside the San Siro stadium was even defaced after his switch to Stamford Bridge last summer.
The mural showed Lukaku pointing two fingers in the air towards the Inter Milan badge and the Italian flag, and most of the phrase ‘Dear Milano, you’re welcome’ has been blocked out with black paint, barring the word ‘Milano’.
Lukaku’s mural outside the San Siro was defaced after his switch back to Stamford Bridge
Inter fans also produced a banner attacking their club, saying: ‘You have broken our balls’
Inter Milan’s main ultra group in the Curva Nord are responsible for the vandalism of the mural, created for the Belgian when he first joined the club in 2019 from Manchester United.
At the time, they also had a banner next to the mural directed towards the Inter hierarchy, led by Chinese club president Steven Zhang, 29, read: ‘You have broken all our balls’.
Even after that statement and his mural being defaced, all seems to have been forgiven, with Inter fans pleased to see the return of Lukaku.
The 29-year-old, who remains in contract at Chelsea until 2026, notched 64 times in just 95 appearances during his previous two-year spell at Inter.
The target man will be hoping for similar fortunes this time round and ensure he can get all the fans back on his side.
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