Everton star Romelu Lukaku insists it was his decision, and not that of Jose Mourinho, to leave Chelsea for the Toffees in 2013.
The 22-year-old will always be viewed as one of the many who got away, especially given his fantastic form as of late, managing 16 goals in 21 appearances in all competitions this season.
Many have attributed his premature Chelsea departure to another Mourinho mistake but the Belgian told the Guardian that he has ‘immense respect’ for the former Blues boss for how he handled his exit.
“Choices were made by me. By me. Not by them,” said Lukaku. “Everyone says it is Mourinho’s fault but it is not his fault because I made the decision. I went to his office to ask if I could go. He was the first one to say: ‘Good luck.’
“I signed the deal with Everton at 11 o’clock and the first text message I got on my old BlackBerry was from Mourinho saying: ‘Good luck, do your best and I will see you next season.’ He was the first.
“Nobody knows that and that is why for me he gets immense respect. It is really sad he has to go. He is a great character and a great man.
“Even though there were words said in the media, I never looked at it because I know what he did and not a lot of managers would do that.”