Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel reportedly made a joke about Tottenham boss Antonio Conte which “didn’t go down very well” with Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgium striker has returned to Inter Milan on loan after a less than comfortable 12 months back at Chelsea.
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Inter will pay Chelsea a loan fee of £6.9m this season, plus £3.5m in bonuses if they win the Scudetto, and will cover all his wages.
The 29-year-old scored 15 goals in a second spell at Stamford Bridge which saw him speak out about his unhappiness at the club just weeks after his £97.5m move.
Under Conte at Inter the striker scored 64 goals in 95 games, as he played a huge part in securing the Serie A title in 2020-21.
And a joke about the Italian manager made by Tuchel is said to have offended Lukaku, according to GOAL journalist Nizaar Kinsella.
He explained: “To see him talk so highly of Inter [during the Sky Italia interview] was an insult to Chelsea fans,” explained GOAL’s Nizaar Kinsella. “It broke the relationship with them.
🚨 ATTENZIONE 🚨
Ep.233
🗣 #LukakuIsBack @Inter_en w. @NizaarKinsella
– #LukakuDay breakdown of move 💰
– Why it went wrong at #ChelseaFC 🤔
– #Tuchel joke to #Lukaku “#AntonioConte your daddy” 😳
– How good will #LaDyLuk be at #Inter w #Dybala & #Lautaro be 🔥
Much more pic.twitter.com/BDuzpWeV0v
— The Italian Football Podcast (@ItaFootPod) June 29, 2022
“And there was another incident behind the scenes that wasn’t televised or anything like that. Someone told me that Lukaku and Tuchel were watching a Tottenham game and Tuchel said, ‘There’s your daddy’, about Antonio Conte. It was just a joke, but apparently, it didn’t go down very well with Lukaku.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea could yet miss out on signing Raphinha from Leeds after his agent Deco was spotted meeting with Barcelona despite agreeing to a move to Stamford Bridge.
A report on Tuesday stated that Chelsea had agreed a £55m transfer fee with Leeds and the deal for the Brazilian winger was close to completion.
But it was also claimed that ‘the race is not yet closed’, and now it appears Barcelona, who were thought to have been ruled out as they can not compete financially, are still in the mix.
A move to the Nou Camp has always been Raphinha’s preference, and his agent Deco seems to be doing everything he can to secure his client’s dream.
He was…
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