Romelu Lukaku has revealed his goal celebration is dedicated to his late grandfather, with the Inter Milan forward having vowed to look after his mum.
The on-loan Chelsea forward is preparing for the Champions League final on Saturday, with Inter facing Manchester City in Istanbul.
Lukaku was asked ahead of the showpiece about what his grandfather would have thought of his achievement in playing in the match.
The Belgian striker told CNN that everything in his career was dedicated to his grandfather.
Lukaku revealed that as a 12-year-old he had vowed to his grandfather in a phone call to look after his mum Adolphine.
Inter forward Romelu Lukaku revealed his goal celebration is a tribute to his late grandfather
Lukaku said the celebration was part of fulfilling a vow to look after his mother Adolphine
The pledge came five days before his grandfather died in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the family originate from.
The 30-year-old has been seen celebrating goals by looking and pointing to the sky, which he said was in recognition of fulfilling that vow.
‘My grandfather for me was my number one, he was my biggest fan, so every time I play it is for him,’ Lukaku said.
‘It is for him, all the time, all the goals that I have scored – everything.
‘I promised him that I would look after my mum, when I was 12, I did that.
‘So every time when I look at my mum and I see her in the stands, I look at him [points upwards] after every goal and I say, I did it.
‘It doesn’t matter – wins or losses, I take it in my stride.
‘These are real family issues. So, for me he meant the world to me.’
Lukaku has enjoyed a strong end to the season and could start in the Champions League final
Lukaku has previously spoken of his family’s journey out of poverty and as his mother struggled to put food on the table.
In a 2018 article for the Players Tribune, Lukaku revealed the family lived for weeks without electricity and how he had seen his mother mix water with milk to make it last longer.
‘I knew we were struggling. But when she was mixing in water with the milk, I realised it was over, you know what I mean? This was our life,’ he wrote.
‘I didn’t say a word. I didn’t want her to stress. I just ate my lunch. But I swear to God, I made a promise to myself that day. It was like somebody snapped their fingers and woke me up. I knew exactly what I had to do, and what I was going to do.
‘I couldn’t see my mother living like that. Nah, nah, nah. I couldn’t have that.’
‘Because I remember sitting in the dark with my brother and my mom, saying our prayers, and thinking, believing, knowing … it’s going to happen.
‘I kept my promise to myself for a while. But then some days I’d come home from school and find my mum crying.
‘So I finally told her one day, “Mum, it’s gonna change. You’ll see. I’m going to play football for Anderlecht, and it’s going to happen soon. We’ll be good. You won’t have to worry anymore.”‘
The 30-year-old has also been seen saluting and raising a finger to his lips in goal celebrations
Lukaku was the victim of racist abuse during Inter’s Coppa Italia semi-final back in April
Lukaku has enjoyed a strong end to the season with Inter, with seven goals in as many games in Serie A putting him into contention to start the Champions League final.
The final will be his last match on loan at the club, where he won the Serie A title in 2021, before returning to Chelsea.
Lukaku has also been seen saluting and holding his finger to his lips in goal celebrations this season.
He was controversially shown a second yellow card and sent off for shushing Juventus fans in Inter’s Coppa Italia semi-final in April, with the referee deciding his gesture was provocative.
Lukaku has been subjected to racist abuse during the match, which led to 171 Juventus supporters being banned by Italian police.
