Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has stated that he never wants to be compared to Cristiano Ronaldo. He has said that he has a long way to go before parallels can be drawn.
Lukaku’s £97,500,000 return to Chelsea and Ronaldo’s switch back to Manchester United dominated headlines of the English transfer window. Talk has emerged over a potential golden boot challenge.
The ex-Inter Milan has already got off the mark in Chelsea colours. Ronaldo, on the other hand, prepares for his second Manchester United debut. However, the Belgian forward has insisted that he cannot be compared with his counterpart given what the Portuguese has achieved in the game.
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Lukaku holds Ronaldo in high regard
Ronaldo, 36, made history this week when he became the highest ever goalscorer in men’s internationals. Netting a late brace against the Republic of Ireland puts him two goals clear of previous record-holder Ali Daei.
The Portuguese ace is now on 111 international career goals, a lofty target that Lukaku could aspire to reach by the end of his own playing time.
Lukaku, 28, is currently on 66 goals for Belgium. He will be hopeful of adding his name to the score sheet when he makes his 100th appearance against Czech Republic on Sunday.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is, for me, in the top three best players in the history of football,” Lukaku says. He continues, “What he has achieved in football today for players of my generation is something exceptional.“
Lukaku went toe to toe with Ronaldo in Italy in recent years, choosing to make a return to Stamford Bridge after helping Inter win the Scudetto.
Ronaldo quickly followed Lukaku out of the Serie A exit door, moving to United. They have had similar career paths coupled with dazzling goal returns. This has seen plenty of comparisons drawn between the pair.
Lukaku has dismissed those claims, believing them to be ‘useless‘ to analyse their statistics side by side. He has gone ahead and named Ronaldo as one of the top three players to have ever played the game.
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