Romelu Lukaku has issued an apology to Chelsea fans for the controversial unauthorised interview, where he said he wasn’t happy at the club.
The Belgian international has since been fined at least a week’s wages for giving the interview to Sky Sport Italy in which he confessed to being unhappy under Tuchel. Lukaku is understood to earn in the region of £325,000-per-week before bonuses.
Sportsmail reported on Tuesday how Lukaku was being pressed into apologising for the drama he caused at the club.
However, the Chelsea manager Tuchel confirmed Lukaku had apologised to him and the rest of the squad during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon and the Blues are keen to move on from the episode, with the striker in line to return against Tottenham.
Having apologized to head coach Thomas Tuchel during a crunch talk on Monday, the 28-year-old has now said sorry to the club’s supporters.
‘To the fans, I’m sorry for the upset that I caused. You guys know the connection that I have with this club since my teenage years so I totally understand you guys being upset,’ said Lukaku.
‘Obviously, it’s up to me now to restore your trust and I’ll do my best to show commitment every day on the training ground and trying to make sure we win games.
‘To the manager, I apologised and I said it to my teammates and the board, because I think it was not the right moment (to do the interview).
‘I want to move forward from this and make sure that we start winning football games and I perform for the best team in the best manner.’
Nevertheless, Tuchel has warned Lukaku to brace himself for a fan backlash at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Lukaku insisted his Sky Sport Italy interview was about a respectful goodbye to Inter fans, and didn’t mean to anger Chelsea fans.
‘I think I should have been much clearer in my message to be honest,’ said Lukaku.
‘Because the interview was about saying goodbye to the Inter fans, it was not about trying to disrespect the (Chelsea) fans, the football club, the owner, my team-mates, the technical staff.