Romelu Menama Lukaku Bolingoli (born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the Belgium national team. He is one of only five players to score 50 Premier League goals before his 23rd birthday,[4] and the fourth player (and first foreign player) to score 80 before his 24th birthday.[5] As a Belgian international, he holds the all-time record of 31 goals scored for the Belgian national team.[N1][6]
Lukaku started his career with local side Rupel Boom, before joining Lierse, where he earned a move to Anderlecht of the Belgian Pro League in 2006. Lukaku made his professional debut while still at school at age 16, and became the 2009–10 top scorer in Belgium as Anderlecht won the Belgian championship. He also won the Belgian Ebony Shoe in 2011. In the 2011 summer transfer window, Lukaku joined Premier League club Chelsea. He did not appear regularly in his first season there, and spent the following two seasons on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Everton respectively, signing permanently for the latter for a club record £28 million in 2014. Three years later, Lukaku signed for Manchester United.
Lukaku made his senior international debut for Belgium in 2010, and has since earned over 50 caps and is their all-time record goalscorer with 31 goals. He has also represented the country at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.
Lukaku joined his local team Rupel Boom at age five. After four seasons at Rupel Boom, Lukaku was discovered by scouts of Lierse, a Belgian Pro League club with an established youth academy. He played for Lierse from 2004 until 2006, scoring 121 goals in 68 matches.[7] After Lierse were relegated from the Belgian Pro League, Anderlecht purchased 13 youth players from Lierse in the 2006 mid-season, including Lukaku. He played three more years as a youth player with Anderlecht, scoring 131 goals in 93 matches.
Lukaku joined Manchester United on 10 July 2017, signing a five-year contract with the option of a further year.[72] Although the fee was officially undisclosed, it was reported to be worth an initial £75 million, plus £15 million in add-ons.[73] Lukaku’s signing came a day after former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney left the club to return to Everton, Rooney’s boyhood club.[74] Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Lukaku asked the permission of Zlatan Ibrahimović if he could take over the number 9 shirt from him.[75] Lukaku was confirmed to have been given the number on 14 July.[76]
He made his debut against Real Madrid on 8 August in the 2017 UEFA Super Cup, and scored his first competitive goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat.[77] His league debut came five days later at home to West Ham. Lukaku scored twice in a 4–0 win,[78] becoming the fourth Manchester United player to score two goals on his Premier League debut.[79] On 27 September, Lukaku scored twice in a 4–1 UEFA Champions League win over CSKA Moscow, taking his tally to 10 goals in his first nine appearances. In doing so, he broke the record set by Sir Bobby Charlton who had scored nine goals in his first nine appearances for the club.
Lukaku was a member of the Belgium under-21 team and scored a goal on his debut against Slovenia. On 24 February 2010, Lukaku was named for the first time in the Belgium senior squad for a friendly match against Croatia.[81] On 17 November 2010, he scored his first two international goals in a friendly against Russia.[82] Lukaku scored his first goal in almost two years for the national team, netting the winner in a 4–2 friendly victory over rivals the Netherlands on 15 August 2012.[83]
On 11 October 2013, Lukaku scored two goals as Belgium defeated Croatia 2–1 to secure a place in the World Cup finals.[84] In May 2014, Lukaku was named in Belgium’s squad for the 2014 World Cup. On 26 May, he scored his first international hat-trick in a pre-tournament friendly against neighbouring Luxembourg.[85] However, as Belgium made seven substitutions during this match instead of the permitted six, it was not recognised as an official match by FIFA.[86] On 1 June, he scored first of Belgium’s two goals in the 2–0 victory in a friendly match against Sweden.[87] In Belgium’s first match of the tournament, a 2–1 win against Algeria in Belo Horizonte, Lukaku started and played 58 minutes before being replaced by Divock Origi.[88] In the round of 16, Lukaku came on as a substitute prior to extra time and assisted Kevin De Bruyne’s opening goal three minutes later. In the 105th minute, he scored his first goal of the tournament as Belgium defeated the United States 2–1.[89] On 29 March 2016, Lukaku headed a consolation in a 2–1 loss away to Portugal, assisted by his brother, Jordan Lukaku.[90]
At UEFA Euro 2016, Lukaku scored a brace in Belgium’s 3–0 second group stage match win on 18 June 2016 over the Republic of Ireland.[91]
On 10 November 2017, Lukaku has equalled the all-time Belgium goalscoring record set by Bernard Voorhoof and Paul van Himst after scoring twice against Mexico in a 3–3 draw.[92]
Only 4 days after he equalled the all-time goals record, on 14 November 2017, Lukaku has become the Belgium’s all-time record goalscorer with 31 international goals at the age of 24 after he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Japan.[93] Although this record was counted by the Royal Belgian Football Association,[94] but FIFA officially recognised only on 28 goals after nullified an international friendly match against Luxembourg on 26 May 2014 which he netted a hat trick in a 5–1 win because the former Belgium coach, Marc Wilmots has made seven substitutions during this match instead of the permitted six which are not in accordance to the Laws of the Game.
