Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Inter Milan, on loan from Premier League club Chelsea, and the Belgium national team.
44 Facts About Romelu Lukaku
2.
Belgium's all-time top goalscorer, Romelu Lukaku made his senior international debut in 2010, and has represented his country at five major tournaments: the 2016 and 2020 UEFA European Championships and the 2014,2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups; he finished as joint second-highest goalscorer to win the Bronze Boot in 2018.
3.
Romelu Lukaku joined his local team Rupel Boom at age five.
4.
Romelu Lukaku played for Lierse from 2004 until 2006, scoring 121 goals in 68 matches.
5.
Romelu Lukaku played three more years as a youth player with Anderlecht, scoring 131 goals in 93 matches.
6.
When Romelu Lukaku turned 16 on 13 May 2009, he signed a professional contract with Anderlecht lasting until 2012.
7.
Romelu Lukaku ended the season as the top goalscorer in the Pro League with 15 goals as Anderlecht won its 30th Belgian title.
8.
Romelu Lukaku made his first start for Chelsea in the League Cup against Fulham.
9.
Romelu Lukaku spent the majority of the season playing for the reserves and started his first Premier League match on 13 May 2012, against Blackburn Rovers, and turned in a man of the match performance, providing an assist for John Terry's opener.
10.
Romelu Lukaku made his full debut in a win against Reading at The Hawthorns, scoring the match's only goal.
11.
Romelu Lukaku came on as a substitute in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup, ultimately missing the deciding penalty in the shootout as Manuel Neuer saved his shot and Chelsea lost to Bayern Munich.
12.
In January 2014, Romelu Lukaku was named by The Guardian as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe, but later in the month was taken off on a stretcher with an ankle ligament injury after Gareth Barry slipped and slid into the striker as he attempted to block Steven Gerrard's opening goal in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool.
13.
Romelu Lukaku made his return from injury against West Ham in March 2014, scoring the only goal of the match on the 81st minute after coming on as a second-half substitute.
14.
Romelu Lukaku found the net 15 times in 31 league matches to help Everton to fifth place with a club record of 72 Premier League points.
15.
Romelu Lukaku did not celebrate the goal, and was applauded by the West Brom fans for his sign of respect.
16.
Romelu Lukaku's goals were scored in 11 minutes and 37 seconds, making it the 12th-fastest hat-trick in Premier League history.
17.
On 20 April 2017, Romelu Lukaku was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the first time.
18.
Romelu Lukaku was included in the six player shortlists for the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards.
19.
Romelu Lukaku joined Manchester United on 10 July 2017, signing a five-year contract with the option of a further year.
20.
Romelu Lukaku's signing came a day after former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney left the club to return to Everton, Rooney's boyhood club.
21.
Romelu Lukaku made substitute appearances in United's next two games against Bournemouth and Newcastle United, scoring in both matches within two minutes of coming on.
22.
Romelu Lukaku later mentioned the reasons for leaving Manchester United, by claiming that he was made a scapegoat alongside other players such as Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez, in addition to club's failure to protect him against rumours about his future.
23.
The goal meant that Romelu Lukaku has found the net in his first league game for five of the six clubs he has represented; Anderlecht, West Brom, Everton, Manchester United, and Inter; he become only the third Belgian to score for Inter in Serie A, after Enzo Scifo and Radja Nainggolan.
24.
Romelu Lukaku concluded his first Serie A season with 23 goals, as Inter finished runner-up by just one point to Juventus in the standings; only Ronaldo and Nyers have scored more than him in their debut season at Inter.
25.
Two days later, Romelu Lukaku scored his first European goal for Chelsea, against Zenit in the Champions League.
26.
On 8 October, Romelu Lukaku was one of five Chelsea players included in the final 30-man shortlist for the 2021 Ballon d'Or, eventually finishing 12th.
27.
Romelu Lukaku was restored to the first team and started in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final win against Tottenham Hotspur, but was fined for his comments.
28.
Romelu Lukaku finished the season having scored eight goals in 26 league games; he was judged by ESPN to be the worst signing of the Premier League season.
29.
Romelu Lukaku was a member of the Belgium under-21 team and scored a goal on his debut against Slovenia.
30.
On 24 February 2010, Romelu Lukaku was named for the first time in the Belgium senior squad for a friendly against Croatia.
31.
In May 2014, Romelu Lukaku was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 World Cup.
32.
Romelu Lukaku broke a three-way tie with the previous record goalscorers, Bernard Voorhoof and Paul Van Himst.
33.
In doing so, Romelu Lukaku became the first player since Diego Maradona in 1986 to score two goals or more in consecutive World Cup matches.
34.
Romelu Lukaku eventually ended the tournament with four goals and one assist, which earned him the Bronze Boot award, as Belgium finished the tournament in third place.
35.
Two days after the final Romelu Lukaku was awarded as sole Belgian player with a selection for the UEFA Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament.
36.
Romelu Lukaku made his 100th Belgium appearance on 5 September 2021 against the Czech Republic, scoring his 67th goal in the process.
37.
Romelu Lukaku is a left-footed player, who in 2014 was named by The Guardian as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe.
38.
Romelu Lukaku scored goals where you were like: 'Oh man, this is not serious.
39.
Romelu Lukaku was fast, he can dribble like a winger, run like a sprinter, he was as strong as an ox.
40.
Romelu Lukaku has a younger brother named Jordan, who has progressed through the youth academy at Anderlecht and currently plays for Royal Antwerp in Belgium.
41.
Romelu Lukaku was the subject of a television documentary series called De School Van Romelu Lukaku shown on the Dutch-speaking Een network.
42.
Romelu Lukaku is a practising Catholic, praying frequently before and after matches.
43.
Romelu Lukaku was the first Premier League player to join Jay-Z's management agency Roc Nation Sports.
44.
In 2020, Romelu Lukaku honoured George Floyd by kneeling and keeping one fist high in support of Black Lives Matter when he scored in a game with Inter against Sampdoria.