Beppe Marotta: 'Romelu Lukaku moved to Chelsea for the money'

Inter Milan chief Beppe Marotta has claimed that Romelu Lukaku moved to Chelsea in the summer only to more than double his wage salary.

The 28-year-old returned to Stamford Bridge in August for a club-record fee of £97.5m, and according to reports, the Belgian striker is the Blues top earner, pocketing £450,000 per week.

That sum is much more than the next highest earner at Chelsea, which is believed to by N'Golo Kante, who earns £290,000 per week, and Lukaku has increased his salary by approximately £300,000.

Marotta told Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera: "Lukaku left to double his salary, in Italy these figures can't exist. Lukaku was sold for €115m and we bought Dzeko for free. On the pitch, there isn't much difference."

Lukaku helped Inter win their first Serie A title in 11 years last season, netting 24 goals in the Italian top flight, and overall since he arrived in Milan in 2019, the striker scored a total of 64 goals for La Beneamata.

The Belgium international has netted four times for Chelsea this season, but now faces a period on the sidelines due to injury.