Who is Romelu Lukaku? Know About His Net Worth, Salary, Family, Lifestyle and Career Stats

From poverty to stardom! This line sums up the journey of Romelu Lukaku, one of the most promising players in the history of football. Born in 1993, the Belgian professional has overcome the barriers of poverty to become a legendary footballer in the English Premier League and Serie A. His journey from the youth academy of Rupel Boom to Napoli saw him don some of the greatest clubs’ jerseys. 

Lukaku is widely known for his physicality, strength and clinical finish. From beginning his senior football career with Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League to lighting up the stage of the English top flight, Lukaku has achieved everything that a young striker dreams of. The top scorer for the Belgium National Football Team has represented his country in six major international tournaments so far. His career has been full of hard work, perseverance, and undeniable talent. The 31-year-old Napoli striker has a unique set of creative flair that has made him one of the lethal strikers of the ball.

Romelu Lukaku Bio

Romelu Lukaku was born on 13th May, 1993 in a very poor family in Antwerp, Belgium. He is the eldest of the two sons to his parents. Lukaku is known by his nicknames – The Tank and Rocky. 

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Romelu Lukaku Net Worth & Salary

Romelu Lukaku is one of the biggest football players in the world and has been involved in some of the most expensive transfer deals in the past few years. In 2017, Manchester United signed him for approximately £65.28 million and sold him to Inter Milan two years later on a £58.28 million transfer deal. His explosive performance on the pitch attracted Chelsea in 2020, and the Blues splashed the cash to bring him to Stamford Bridge in 2021 on an enormous contract worth £88.28 million. Currently, he is playing for Napoli in Serie A. 

His estimated gross salary in the Italian club is £7.8 million per year. All these high-profile transfers and salaries have taken the net worth of Romelu Lukaku to a new high. As of 2024, the net worth of Lukaku is estimated at around £75.80 million, according to wtfoot.

Romelu Lukaku Family & Wife

Romelu Lukaku has a small family, hailing from Antwerp in Belgium. His parents, Adolphine Bolingoli Lukaku and Roger Lukaku were very poor and faced financial issues in raising two sons. Lukaku spent his childhood with his younger brother Jordan Lukaku and shared a strong bond with each other, even when they started playing football. The Lukaku family belonged to a poor family. Romelu Lukaku’s father, Roger played in the lowest division of the Belgium league and earned meager wages which made the life difficult for other family members including Lukaku’s mother, who was a full-time housewife. The financial strain forced the family struggling to make ends meet when Lukaku was beginning to show his talent in football during his school days.

Romelu Lukaku’s father came from the Democratic Republic of Congo seeking greater success in his football career. Lukaku and his brother joined a school at the age of six, and continued pursuing education at the highest level.

Lukaku’s wife Julia Vandenweghe was the Belgian striker’s long-time girlfriend before the couple tied the knot. Lukaku comes from an ethnic Christian family and believes in the importance of marriage. Julia Vandenweghe previously worked as a Travel and Tourism professional in Belgium before getting married to Lukaku.

Romelu Lukaku Cars & Houses

Romelu Lukaku is very much fond of luxury cars and his garage speaks for his avid enthusiasm for expensive car collections. From Ferrari Roma to Rolls-Royce Wraith, he owns some of the finest million-dollar cars. 

• Maserati GranTurismo (£144,125)
• Mercedes Benz AMG GT-S (£130,950)
• Maserati MC20 (£205,130)
• Ferrari Roma (£220,120)
• Rolls-Royce Wraith (£305,100)

Apart from this luxury car collection, Lukaku has also invested millions of dollars in buying costly properties across the world. He has luxurious apartments in Everton, Manchester, Antwerp and Milan. These apartments look like mansions that have Jacuzzi, personal theatre, gym, recording studio and many more leisure types of equipment.

Romelu Lukaku Club Career

Inspired by the journey of his father, Romelu Lukaku also took the leap of faith and chose football at the tender age of five. He started playing with a local Belgium football club, Rupel Boom before being signed by Anderlecht, a club that saw a tank full of talent in him. He worked on his skills and brought his highest level of game under the keen watch of the coaching staff of Anderlecht. His exquisite scoring and dribbling skills caught the attention of the club management and he was handed his senior club debut in 2009. In two years, Lukaku created a name for himself by netting 36 goals for Anderlecht and announced his presence in Europe.

Arrival at Premier League

In 2011, the Premier League club Chelsea triggered Lukaku’s buy-out clause and brought him to Stamford Bridge for a reported fee of £17 million including add-ons. However, his life in England didn’t start on a high note and he was sent as a loanee to West Bromwich and Everton respectively. Lukaku started to make his mark on the English top flight when he scored a hat-trick against Manchester United in the biggest draw (5-5) in the history of the Premier League. He was lethal for Everton in his second loan season and racked up 16 goals in just 34 appearances for the Merseyside club. With him starting to lead the attack of Everton with his threatening run and shooting ability, the club decided to buy him on a permanent deal that cost them a club-record transfer fee of £28 million in 2014. 

Everton laid the path to stardom for Lukaku and he made the best use of it. The Belgian striker scored his first hat-trick in the UEFA Europa League in a 4-1 win against Young Boys in 2015. In three years, Lukaku amassed 55 goals in 116 games for the Merseyside outfit. 

Manchester United Chapter

When he was emerging like a cruiser, Manchester United made a move for him in 2017 and brought him to Old Trafford for a fee of £75 million. Lukaku miserably failed to continue his goal scoring form for the Reds as he saw a steep drop in his form. He scored his first competitive goal for Manchester United in a 1-2 defeat against Real Madrid in the 2017 UEFA Super Cup. In 2018, Lukaku completed his 200th goal for club and country despite being denied by fate on the pitch. He also became the fifth youngest player to score 100 Premier League goals when he led the Reds to a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Swansea City in his 216th game in the English top flight. Before sahi goodbye to Old Trafford, Lukaku clocked over 28 goals in less than 70 official games. 

Journey to Inter Milan & Return to Stamford Bridge

Serie A giants put faith in a struggling Romelu Lukaku and signed him on a five-year contract for £78 million, breaking the previous club-record transfer fee. Alongside Lautaro Martinez, the Belgian forward built a formidable attacking squad for the Milan side and continued to terrorize the opponents. He concluded his first Serie A season with 26 goals. In the second season in Italy, he scored 24 goals and assisted 12 times to guide Inter Milan to the Serie A title glory in the 2020-21 season. In 2021, Lukaku was re-signed by Chelsea for a club-record fee of £97.5 million, and with that transfer he became the most expensive player of all-time with a cumulative transfer fee of £288 million. He ended his first season as a Blue with just eight goals and the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup title, having been termed as the worst signing of the season.

His poor form forced Chelsea to send him back to Inter Milan in the 2022-23 season. After returning to the field of Serie A, Lukaku once again found his lost confidence and played a crucial role in taking Inter Milan to the Champions League final. Despite being blessed with so much talent, Lukaku, who was destined to be one of the greatest players of all-time, witnessed a downward turn to his form and played for AS Roma under Jose Mourinho before signing for Napoli in 2024. 

Romelu Lukaku International Career

Romelu Lukaku began his international career as a promising youngster with the Belgium U-21 national football team. His creative flair and clinical performances earned him a fast-tracked promotion to the senior team in 2010 and he scored two goals against Russia in a friendly encounter. He scored his first international hat-trick for Belgium in a friendly against Luxembourg. Before the end of 2017, Lukaku became the all-time top scorer for his country with 31 goals. In 2020, he made it to the UEFA Euro team of the tournament as the sole player from Belgium. In the 2024 UEFA Euro qualifying campaign, Lukaku netted 14 goals in just eight appearances, making him the player with the most goals in the European Championship qualifiers.

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