Romelu Lukaku has revealed that he is motivated to succeed at Inter this season due to "an anger inside" following his disappointing 2021-22 season with Chelsea. Lukaku returned to Stamford Bridge from San Siro last summer in a blockbuster £98 million ($119m) move, only to flop badly, registering just eight Premier League goals in 26 appearances.
The Belgian also sullied his relationship with Chelsea supporters with an explosive mid-season interview in which he admitted regretting leaving Inter in the first place.
In June, Lukaku did get his dream move back to the Nerazzurri on loan and he is now aiming to recapture his best form in Serie A.
What has Lukaku said about his nightmare return to Chelsea?
"The season at Chelsea gave me extra motivation to do even better than before. I think in a year people have forgotten what I can do on the pitch. This is a kind of anger that I have inside of me," the 29-year-old forward told DAZN Italia.
Despite this personal motivation to prove the doubters wrong, Lukaku insisted that he is not focussed on winning individual awards this season.
"I don't care about the top scorers, I only think about the Scudetto. We are at Inter, here we play for the Scudetto, not for individual trophies," he added.
Why did Lukaku leave Inter in the first place?
Lukaku went on to give further insight into why he decided to leave Inter back in summer 2021 before admitting he no longer sees his long-term future at Chelsea.
"When I left I had in mind to get a rematch with Chelsea. When I was young I was at Chelsea for eleven years and I wanted to come back to be a protagonist," he said.
"After the last game I started thinking about what the best situation was for me. The season for me at Chelsea was difficult and I think things would not improve in the future and so I decided to come back here."
How did Lukaku's first spell at Inter go?
After joining Inter from Manchester United in the summer of 2019, Lukaku went on to net 34 goals in all competitions as Inter missed out on the Scudetto by a single point.
Things got even better during the 2020-21 campaign, with the Belgian once again providing the goals while improving his assists output dramatically to help Antonio Conte's side end their wait for a Serie A title.