ROME (AP) — For a brief period this week, the plane carrying Romelu Lukaku from London to Rome via Brussels was the most followed flight in the world.
Nearly 50,000 people — almost all of them likely devoted Roma fans — picked out the Gulfstream G650 flown by Roma’s American president and pilot Dan Friedkin at one point on the Flight Radar 24 site.
It’s a measure of how much Lukaku’s season-long loan deal means to Roma and its rabid supporters.
Some 5,000 yellow-and-red clad fans were waiting at Rome’s Ciampino airport to welcome Lukaku, Friedkin and Roma general manager Tiago Pinto to the Italian capital on Tuesday.
“The welcome I’ve received from this club and its fans has excited me and given me even more motivation to give my all for my new team," Lukaku said when the deal was finalized Thursday.
Not since perhaps Gabriel Batistuta was brought in to help Roma win its last Serie A title in 2001 has a center forward’s arrival been so celebrated for the Giallorossi.
“I recently got the opportunity to speak with the owners, and I was impressed by their ambition,” Lukaku said.
For a team that had for many years relied on its strong youth system to develop its biggest stars — see former Roma captains Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi and current skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini — the Friedkin era has been marked by the arrival of a big-named foreigner before each of the last three seasons.
Celebrated coach Jose Mourinho was hired in 2021, former Juventus forward Paulo Dybala was acquired last year and now Lukaku has landed in the Eternal City.
The results have been decent so far with consecutive appearances in European finals — Roma won the inaugural Conference League in 2022 and lost the Europa League final to Sevilla last season — but also consecutive sixth-place finishes in Serie A.
With Lukaku, who has scored 78 goals in 132 matches across all competitions for Inter Milan over three of the past four seasons, Roma likely won’t be fully satisfied without a top-four finish and a return to the lucrative Champions League.
Still operating under a settlement agreement with UEFA because of financial fair play violations, Roma desperately needs to qualify for Europe’s top competition in order to better balance its books before the constrictions end in 2027 — the year that will mark the club’s centennial and also when it hopes to open a long-delayed new stadium.
So it’s not surprising that Lukaku’s 7 million euro ($7.6 million) contract reportedly includes a bonus clause of 400,000 euros ($435,000) linked to Champions League qualification — in addition to personal objectives such as goals scored and appearances.
With Napoli, AC Milan, Inter and Juventus all more highly rated on paper, though, reaching the top four will be a challenge.
“Knowing that Lukaku has chosen Roma can only bring us great satisfaction," Pinto said. "With his arrival, we gain more experience, professionalism, and a drive to win."
Roma has only one point from its opening two games but will hope that the euphoria surrounding Lukaku’s arrival carries it to a win over AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday.
Lukaku, however, will probably be limited to a bench role against Milan after a standoff with Chelsea meant that he has not done any organized training lately. Also, Dybala is unavailable because of a thigh issue that forced him to exit during the second half of a 2-1 loss at Hellas Verona last weekend.
Milan, meanwhile, is off to a perfect start with newly signed American standout Christian Pulisic leading the way.
Like Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek at U.S.-owned Milan, Lukaku arrives from Chelsea and the relationship between Friedkin and fellow American Todd Boehly, who owns the London club, appears to have played a role in the Belgian’s move.
Lukaku had been linked with a transfer to Juventus but that fell through because of fan protests in Turin.
Roma needed a new center forward with Tammy Abraham out long-term after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the final match of Serie A last season. Even before the injury, Abraham had been struggling following a breakout season in 2021-22.
Andrea Belotti has done well so far replacing Abraham with two goals in Roma’s opening 2-2 draw with Salernitana.
Lukaku will reunite with Mourinho after stints under the Portuguese coach at Chelsea (2013-14) — even if he was sent on loan to Everton that season — and at Manchester United from 2017-18.
Mourinho’s biggest challenge with Lukaku may be getting him into shape.
Considered for a time as one of the world’s most devastating strikers, Lukaku — the record scorer for Belgium’s national team — has been criticized for his fitness levels in recent seasons and was cast aside at Chelsea.
But Lukaku’s veteran presence in the locker room could be key after Mourinho lost longtime devotee Nemanja Matic, who left for Rennes following a reported falling out with the coach.
It’s a pivotal season for Roma with contracts for Mourinho, Pinto and now Lukaku all expiring next June.
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