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Romelu Lukaku caused a stir this week for publicly calling out Chelsea in a controversial interview but he isn’t the only one to have hit out at their own club over the years
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Romelu Lukaku may have stunned the football world this week by throwing his toys out of the Chelsea pram, but he isn’t the only one to have kicked up a stink with his club down the years.
The Belgian looked to have fulfilled a boyhood dream when he rejoined the Blues in the summer for a club-record £97.5million, this time as their number nine and talisman, but the reunion has swiftly turned into a nightmare.
The Chelsea striker has caused uproar after he revealed in an interview with Sky Italia that he is unhappy at the club and regretting his high-profile departure from former club Inter Milan.
While it remains to be seen how this particular saga will pan out, history shows any number of outcomes could occur as he isn’t the first to publicly take aim at his current club.
As Lukaku takes his turn at stealing the limelight, Mirror Football look back at some others who has offered up ill-fated interviews and examine, in each case, just what happened next.
Which of these interviews was the most iconic? Have your say in the comments!
Roy Keane
With tensions already close to breaking point and the writing seemingly on the wall for Roy Keane at Manchester United, the outspoken Irishman hammered a final nail into his own coffin back in November 2005.
Following a 4-1 United defeat to Middlesbrough, an injured Keane didn’t hold back as he slammed his own teammates in an infamous interview with MUTV, which was described by onlookers as “explosive even by his standards”.
The former Red Devils captain blasted the majority of his peers, but it was recently recruited Rio Ferdinand who bore the brunt of his tirade, after he found himself dispossessed and punished by Boro striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for one of the goals.
“I have seen that happen to Rio before. It is poor defending,” Keane declared. “Just because you are paid £120,000-a-week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham you think you are a superstar.”
Unsurprisingly, the club sought to destroy all footage of the “Roy Keane Plays The Pundit” feature while fining the midfielder £5,000 and mutually agreeing to terminate his contract soon after.
Raheem Sterling
Having broken into the Liverpool first team and established himself as a fan favourite, Raheem Sterling then burned a number of bridges when he forced through a move to Premier League rivals Manchester City in the summer of 2015.
Despite Anfield bosses tabling what then manager Brendan Rodgers described as “an incredible deal”, Sterling refused to sign a new contract before adding fuel to an already ablaze saga following comments made in an unsanctioned interview with the BBC.
“It’s never been about money,” Sterling declared as he discussed his rejection of a new Liverpool deal. “I talk about winning trophies throughout my career. That’s all I talk about.
“I don’t talk about how many cars I’m going to drive, how many houses I’ve got. I just purely want to be the best I can be.”
Rodgers then took aim at Sterling’s chief advisor Aide Ward, saying: “You are not a 20-year-old boy and you pick up the phone and ask to speak to the BBC. You don’t do it. Him in particular. But, of course, if he is asked to do that by other parties then that is what he’ll do.”
The war of words continued, with Ward responding: “I don’t care about the PR of the club and the club situation. He is definitely not signing [a new contract]. He’s not signing for £700, £800, £900 thousand a week.”
While Sterling may have missed out on Champions League glory with the Reds, the England winger has indeed satisfied his cravings for silverware, winning three Premier League crowns and one FA Cup after being granted his move to Manchester City for around £50m months after that explosive interview.
Lionel Messi
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Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
Lionel Messi bid a teary farewell to Barcelona this summer as the cash-strapped Catalan club were prevented from offering him a new deal, but the Argentine’s emotions were a far cry from those 12 months previous.
A year prior to his PSG move, Messi stunned the footballing world as he reportedly declared his desire to depart the Nou Camp by burofax.
The statement read: “By means of the present, and in accordance with the provisions of clause 3.1. of the contract of November 25, 2017, I express to you my willingness to terminate my employment contract as a professional footballer with an effective date of August 30, 2020.”
The famous fax added the contract he signed in 2017 came with a clause that would enable him to leave before June 10, 2020 without any “prior communication to the club”.
Former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu stood his ground with clause intricacies meaning Messi could either stay for the final year of his contract or take his beloved Barca to court.
After refusing the latter, Messi remained with the La Liga giants for one more year before the club’s financial crisis gave him no choice but to depart in a flood of tears as he seemingly had a change of heart.
Peter Odemwingie
Having already slammed his current club West Brom on Twitter following their rejection of a £2m bid from bankrolled QPR, Peter Odemwingie then infamously took matters into his own hands on deadline day of January 2013 as he drove to London to force through a move.
“I think every football fan is interested to see if we can make the deal or not and I am optimistic about it,” the Nigerian forward told Sky Sports through his car window.
“It’s not one hundred percent but I hope West Brom will be happy with what they will get and of course, they are hoping to get a few players themselves. I just hope things will go well in the last few hours.”
“I had to push a little bit,” he chuckled, acknowledging his highly-controversial comments on Twitter.
Incredibly, the deal which was supposed to see Junior Hoilett head the other way, fell through, and an “unprofessional” Odemwingie was forced to return to the Hawthorns with his tail between his legs.
Having publicly apologised after initially being frozen out, the Baggies all-time leading Premier League goalscorer was then sold to Cardiff in the summer, shortly after he slammed the club on Twitter for a second time after only being used sparingly as a substitute.
Harry Kane
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Image:
Sky Sports)
While the summer of 2021 will forever be remember as the window in which Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi both moved clubs, one man who was denied a departure was that of Harry Kane.
The Tottenham striker’s future was shrouded in uncertainty after he hinted at hopes of a new challenge in an exclusive chat with Gary Neville for The Overlap early on in the summer.
“I don’t want to have come to the end of my career and have any regrets,” he revealed. “So, I want to be the best that I can be. I’ve said before, I’d never say that I’d stay at Spurs for the rest of my career. I’d never say that I would leave Spurs.”
“I’m not afraid to say that I want to be the best. I’m not afraid to say I want to try get on the level that Ronaldo and Messi got to. You know, that’s my ultimate goal. That’s my aim, to be winning trophies season in, season out.”
An epic transfer tug-of-war then followed as Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy held firm amid a £100m bid from Premier League champions Manchester City as Kane failed to report to training in a bid to force the club’s hand.
After weeks of growing frustrations, City eventually opted to spend the money on Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Kane was left to grovel, committing his future to Tottenham. For now, at least.
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