Striker was left to pay his own £6500 private jet fare
Everton have ‘annoyed’ striker Romelu Lukaku by leaving him to pay his own £6,500 private-jet plane fare on his return to England after the recent international break.
Lukaku, and all the other Belgium players, hired a the jet to bring them home from Cyprus earlier this week to prepare for the 4th round of fixtures in the new Premier League season. However, Everton’s rivals, including Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Burnley and Manchester United, all agreed to pay out the £6,500 per player cost, while Everton, who are only playing tonight rather than earlier in the weekend, refused to pay for Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas.
Boss Ronald Koeman gave his squad Wednesday off then began full preparations for the trip to Wearside on Thursday, and club chiefs did not feel it was necessary to fork out £13,000 to bring their Belgians back early.
Lukaku, who scored his first two goals of the season in the 3-0 win in Nicosia, did not see it that way and is irritated by the club’s stance.
A source said: “The Belgium players at clubs in the north-west organised a private jet to fly them home from Cyprus, to get back quicker.
“All the other clubs agreed to pay the £6,500 cost for their players, and Lukaku wasn’t happy when Everton told him they wouldn’t pay.
“Mirallas was in the same position, and the two of them ended up paying for the flights themselves.”
The episode has put a fresh strain on Lukaku’s relations with Everton, after he pledged his immediate future to the Blues last month.
By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10
