‘There’s your daddy’: Tuchel’s joke about Lukaku’s bond with Conte ‘broke their relationship’

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel reportedly ‘broke his relationship’ with Romelu Lukaku when he made a brutal joke about Antonio Conte that ‘didn’t go down well’.

The unsettled Belgian striker completed his loan move back to Inter Milan on Wednesday, less than 12 months after arriving at Stamford Bridge for a club record fee of £97.5million.

Lukaku, who scored just eight times in 26 Premier League appearances last campaign, made no secret of his desire to return to the Italian giants during a controversial interview with Sky Italia last December.

Romelu Lukaku endured a disappointing season after joining Chelsea for £98m last summer

His bond with Thomas Tuchel ‘fractured after the Blues boss made a joke about Antonio Conte’

By contrast, the 29-year-old netted 64 goals in 95 games at Inter under Conte, helping secure the Serie A title in 2020-21.

Tuchel endured a fractious relationship with the Belgian striker throughout the past 12 months.

But their bond went beyond repair after the German coach made a savage joke that ‘didn’t go down well’ with his talisman.

Whilst watching a game involving Spurs, the Blues boss offended Lukaku by joking that Conte was his ‘daddy’, according to Goal.

Lukaku’s 64 goals in 95 games helped win Inter and ex-chief Conte the Serie A title in 2020-21

It’s claimed that the incident exacerbated the already-strained relationship between the pair.

The Goal journalist explained: ‘To see him talk so highly of Inter was an insult to Chelsea fans. It broke the relationship with them.

‘And there was another incident behind the scenes that wasn’t televised or anything like that.

‘Someone told me that Lukaku and Tuchel were watching a Tottenham game and Tuchel said, ”There’s your daddy”, about Antonio Conte. 

The striker made no secret of his desire to leave Chelsea during an interview last December

Lukaku smiled as he waved to the crowd and shook a few hands at Milan airport on Tuesday

‘It was just a joke, but apparently, it didn’t go down very well with Lukaku.’

Sportsmail has approached Chelsea Football Club for comment. 

Upon touching down in Milan on Tuesday to complete his medical at the club, Lukaku greeted Inter fans with a smile and handshakes, delighted to put the troubling Chelsea spell in his wake.

Meanwhile, the west London club are on the brink of finalising a deal worth £55m plus add-ons for Leeds winger Raphinha.