Monday 10 July 2017 17:42, UK
Romelu Lukaku has been reunited with former boss Jose Mourinho following his move to Manchester United.
In what was a brief period together at Chelsea their relationship appeared difficult at times and Mourinho eventually sold Lukaku to Everton for £28m.
But with the Belgium international's move to Old Trafford now confirmed, we take a look back at what Lukaku and Mourinho have had to say about each other in recent years...
Mourinho returned to Chelsea in 2013 and he was quick to say Romelu Lukaku, who scored 17 goals for West Brom during the previous season, was part of his plans for the new season.
"I can say that [De Bruyne and Lukaku] are the profile of player that Chelsea invested a lot in the past and I think it's my work and my contribution to extract the best out of that investment and I think both of them are ready to come and are ready to be part of our squad."
Mourinho went on to praise Lukaku after Chelsea's 4-1 win over a Malaysian XI in pre-season.
"People compare him to Didier Drogba but we have to respect Didier, because he is unique in Chelsea's history, and we have to respect Lukaku. The best way to do that is not compare him to a legend in Chelsea's history. Leave Didier where he is, at the top of Chelsea's history, and leave Lukaku to work hard. The kid is good."
However, it did not quite work out. Lukaku reportedly asked to leave Stamford Bridge hours after his penalty miss in the 2013 Super Cup defeat by Bayern Munich and he joined Everton on a season-long loan deal in September.
Lukaku left for Everton on loan and immediately found his scoring touch, but he still had time to praise Mourinho's management.
"I've had Jose Mourinho as a coach for two months. Something special. He's building the foundations of an unbeatable machine again. We didn't have problems. He wanted me to stay and asked me why I wanted to leave. In some interviews my words were twisted, but the truth is that he accepted to let me leave. He did understand what I wanted. That's what I really appreciate in him."
However, Mourinho didn't regret the decision to let Lukaku leave, questioning the striker's mentality in the process. "It is one thing to play for Everton and another thing to play for Chelsea. There are no regrets."
"It's a bit strange at the moment, the last time I heard from them was a couple of months ago. It was not the fact I was not wanted. Imagine I was playing for Chelsea now I would play maybe five games, maybe score one or two goals. But now everyone in England is talking about me."
Lukaku revealed Mourinho has not been in touch since his loan move to Everton. The Portuguese manager hit back...
"Romelu likes to speak. He's a young boy who likes to speak. But the only thing he didn't say is why he went to Everton on loan. That's the only thing he never says. And my last contact with him was to tell him exactly that: 'Why do you never say why you are not here?'
"It's something he should say, the reason why he's not with Chelsea and is in Everton. There are things in our lives that we have to keep private but one day he scored and said he hoped Jose was watching. It was like saying: 'Why did he let me go?' And that's what I'm telling him now: 'Tell the country why you left.' When you enjoy to speak, speak everything. Don't speak only half of it. Speak everything. It's a simple question: 'Why did you leave Chelsea?' Ask him."
Despite the war of words, Mourinho appears to be happy with the striker's development at Everton.
"I'm happy that he's scoring goals against our direct rivals, and he doesn't score against us because he can't. But he's there. It's good for his evolution. It's good for Chelsea because he belongs to us for a long time."
It is one thing to play for Everton and another thing to play for Chelsea. There are no regrets.
Lukaku's loan move to Everton turned into a permanent deal in the summer of 2014 for £28m.
And Mourinho questioned Lukaku's mentality. "Romelu was always very clear with us in his mentality and his approach was not highly motivated to come to a competitive situation at Chelsea. He wanted to be clearly the first-choice striker.
"Financial fair play is always something behind the thoughts of the Chelsea board and you have the chance to make some movements that create a positive impact Chelsea always analyses these situations."
Lukaku had his say on his departure from Chelsea but he refused to blame Mourinho.
"Choices were made by me. By me. Not by them. Everyone says it is Mourinho's fault but it is not his fault because I made the decision. I went to his office to ask if I could go. He was the first one to say: 'Good luck.'
"I signed the deal with Everton at 11 o'clock and the first text message I got on my old BlackBerry was from Mourinho saying: 'Good luck, do your best and I will see you next season.' He was the first. Nobody knows that and that is why for me he gets immense respect. It is really sad he has to go. He is a great character and a great man. Even though there were words said in the media, I never looked at it because I know what he did and not a lot of managers would do that."
And he thanked Mourinho for letting him leave for Goodison Park.
"I never got the chance to say it but I would say thank you to Jose Mourinho. I had one conversation with him a few days before I left and I told him I wanted to go and I think he saw in my eyes that I really needed to play because it was the year of the World Cup. He was the one who gave me the green light to go."
In March 2016 it appeared we'd come full circle with Lukaku looking like he'd ready to work with Mourinho again.
"Some people will say that I need to convince him but it's not a question of that. Three years ago I was 20 and I wasn't ready to be immediately effective in a top team.
"The page is turned on both sides."
