Romelu Lukaku laid bare his reasons for wanting to leave Everton this summer, citing the club’s lack of ambition as the defining factor, reports Daily Mail.
The Belgium international stunned Everton’s hierarchy on Tuesday when he told them he would not commit to a new deal. The club had put together the biggest financial package in their history and were prepared to pay him in excess of £130,000 a week.
Talks had been ongoing since last summer and it appeared Lukaku would commit his future, only for the 23-year-old to perform a U-turn. Everton have not given up hope of changing his mind, but he does not want to be seen as duplicitous.
This has not come down to him asking for more money or a dispute between Everton and Mino Raiola, his agent. But with two years left on his deal, he doesn’t want to commit to a longer stay on Merseyside if Everton can’t reach the heights Lukaku craves.
In a remarkable interview with Daily Mail, Lukaku’s frustration at not playing for a club that is competing in the Champions League bubbled over and he made it very clear he wants to be on a stage where he can fulfill his goals.
‘Everton as a club have a great history, right?’ Lukaku said. ‘But the future has to be written. You get me? We always talk about the teams of the 1980s and, if you look, it was great. But we, as players, want the fans talking about us instead of us talking about them. No disrespect but you know what I mean?
‘You cannot only be remembered by scoring goals. You want to be remembered by winning trophies. That is what the fans want. So instead of living in the past, you have to think ahead.
‘How this club has to grow, how this club has to improve. Which player does it want to bring in so you can challenge for the big trophies?
‘Sometimes I speak to Vincent Kompany, who was at Manchester City when it all happened. He said, “Rom, one summer I just came in and boom, boom, boom… Robinho from there, this guy came in, this guy came in”.
‘Everyone was criticising them but, at the end, there are two league titles, FA Cup here, League Cups there. That is what we want as players.’
Everton have tried to make big statements in the transfer market since Farhad Moshiri became the club’s majority shareholder last February, but not all have come off.
‘Stuff is happening,’ said Lukaku. ‘But there were some players we could have got, that I knew the club could have got and they didn’t. And they are playing in this league. I’m not saying names but they are doing well.’
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