Romelu Lukaku’s arrival at Roma from Chelsea on a season-long loan was celebrated by supporters as he was warmly embraced as a hero on Wednesday.
Although Roma has yet to officially announce the transfer, Serie A has confirmed its completion, marking it on their list of concluded deals.
Thousands of fans joyously welcomed the Belgium striker Lukaku when he landed at Ciampino airport, located just outside Rome, on Tuesday. His arrival brings a much-needed boost to Roma, who had a challenging start to the new Serie A season.
Reports from Italian media indicate that Chelsea agreed to Roma’s offer of approximately six million euros ($6.5 million) for Lukaku’s temporary transfer. This move comes as a response to Roma’s search for a striker after Tammy Abraham suffered knee ligament damage at the close of the previous season.
Lukaku has willingly accepted a pay reduction from nearly 11 million euros to around 7.5 million euros, displaying his commitment to joining Roma. The club operates under a Financial Fair Play settlement agreement established with UEFA.
Having secured just one point from their initial two matches, Roma’s struggle to translate their dominance into goals was evident in their 2-1 defeat against Verona on Saturday.
In the meantime, Chelsea had been attempting to permanently offload Lukaku throughout the summer, aiming to resolve a costly transfer that incurred a 115 million euro acquisition fee from Inter Milan and a substantial annual salary.
However, negotiations with Inter – where Lukaku was loaned to last season – collapsed, reportedly due to the discovery that he had been holding secretive discussions with their chief rivals, Juventus and AC Milan.
Instead, Lukaku has reunited with his former Manchester United coach, Jose Mourinho, as Roma strives to secure a spot in the Champions League for the first time since 2018.
