Romelu Lukaku has deleted his Twitter account and made a change to his Facebook page after being left out of Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday. The Belgian striker Lukaku, who has only just returned to the starting line-up after injury and COVID-19, said he was unhappy with his role at the club and would like to return to Inter Milan in the near future.
Amidst the furore, fans noticed that Lukaku's Twitter account no longer exists. Despite his profile picture showing him in a Chelsea shirt, there is no mention of the club on Lukaku's profile, with his bio reading 'Inter Milan' instead. It's possible that he simply hasn't updated his page since the summer, but it's not exactly a good look.
Lukaku had revealed that he doesn't like the formation Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has been using all season and insisted he would've stayed at Inter Milan had they offered him a new contract last summer.
In response, Tuchel decided to leave the striker at home ahead of what was a hugely significant tie with Liverpool, stressing that the "noise was too big" around the player to include him. The Chelsea coach explained the decision-making process that led to Romelu Lukaku's omission from the squad.
"It is not Chelsea-like but it's also not the worst thing in the world and it's not the first time that an interview out there causes some noise that nobody needs," Tuchel said after the Liverpool game.
"I don't feel personally attacked. I don't feel personally angry but the noise was too big on Friday. We took the decision to delay the decision, also to protect Romelu from a rash decision, because we need to speak, we need to read the full interview, to stay calm and not lose our head. It was simply the decision to protect the preparation for a match like this. So it was clear he will not be in the squad, he will not play, and from there on there was a bit more focus to play a match like this," Tuchel said.
"I take decisions for the team and I have players to listen to and hear their opinion and what they think, and I make my decisions once I hear them out," Tuchel explained.
"It's their club, it's their team. It's not a personal thing for me to decide only because of my beliefs," said the coach. "We have a squad to protect and a squad which is strong, with strong beliefs and strong values," he added.
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