Thomas Tuchel ‘told flop Romelu Lukaku ”there’s your daddy” when he saw Tottenham boss Antonio Conte on TV’, report claims – in a ‘joke’ that angered the No 9 as their Chelsea relationship collapsed
- Thomas Tuchel ‘broke his bond’ with Romelu Lukaku after a joke that went wrong
- He reportedly joked that ex-Inter boss Antonio Conte was Lukaku’s ‘daddy’
- Sources close to the football club have derided the reported claim as ‘nonsense’
- The Belgian international completed his loan move back to Inter on Wednesday
- Lukaku scored 64 goals in 95 appearances for Conte whilst playing in Serie A
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel reportedly ‘broke his relationship’ with Romelu Lukaku when he made a brutal joke about Antonio Conte that ‘didn’t go down well’.
The unsettled Belgian striker completed his loan move back to Inter Milan on Wednesday, less than 12 months after arriving at Stamford Bridge for a club record fee of £97.5million.
Lukaku, who scored just eight times in 26 Premier League appearances last campaign, made no secret of his desire to return to the Italian giants during a controversial interview with Sky Italia last December.
Romelu Lukaku endured a disappointing season after joining Chelsea for £98m last summer
His bond with Thomas Tuchel ‘fractured after the Blues boss made a joke about Antonio Conte’
By contrast, the 29-year-old netted 64 goals in 95 games at Inter under Conte, helping secure the Serie A title in 2020-21.
Tuchel endured a fractious relationship with the Belgian striker throughout the past 12 months.
But their bond went beyond repair after the German coach made a savage joke that ‘didn’t go down well’ with his talisman.
Whilst watching a game involving Spurs, the Blues boss offended Lukaku by joking that Conte was his ‘daddy’, according to Goal.
Lukaku’s 64 goals in 95 games helped win Inter and ex-chief Conte the Serie A title in 2020-21
It’s claimed that the incident exacerbated the already-strained relationship between the pair.
The Goal journalist explained: ‘To see him talk so highly of Inter was an insult to Chelsea fans. It broke the relationship with them.
‘And there was another incident behind the scenes that wasn’t televised or anything like that.
‘Someone told me that Lukaku and Tuchel were…