Who Is Romelu Lukaku? Megan Thee Stallion's Rumored New Flame

Amidst Megan Thee Stallion's extended break from music, it appears that she's been looking to repair her personal life after a busy few years in the industry. During that time, rumors have flared regarding her potential new relationship with professional soccer player Romelu Lukaku. The two were seen being intimate with each other the past weekend at the wedding of Lukaku's teammate, Lautaro Martinez. The fellow Inter Miler striker tied to knot with model Agustina Gandolfo. Taking place in beautiful Lake Como, Italy, the pair were stuck to each other throughout the evening.

Megan Thee Stallion's apparent new relationship with Lukaku comes a few months after fans speculated that her past relationship with boyfriend and fellow MC Pardison "Pardi" Fontaine had come to an end. Fontaine and Megan had reportedly been dating for over two years. The two met through the music industry, with Fontaine being a successful rapper and songwriter in his own right. His penwork shined on Megan Thee Stallion's Grammy-winning "Savage (Remix)" ft. Beyoncé. He also contributed to the songwriting of Cardi B's "WAP" ft. Megan Thee Stallion. However, Pardi and Megan unfollowed each other on social media platforms towards the beginning of the year, leading to speculation that they've called it quits. Lukaku also experienced a recent split, with things ending between himself and Belgian model Sarah Mens after a 5-year relationship.

For those of you who don't watch soccer, Romelu Lukaku has long been a household name as a top-class striker. By the age of 5, he joined his local team in Antwerp, Belgium. Gradually rising to a serious academy prospect, he was an established goal-scoring machine in youth leagues by 2005. Lukaku was raised in impoverished circumstances, telling The Players Tribune, "My mum had the same thing on the menu every single day: Bread and milk. When you're a kid, you don't even think about it. But I guess that's what we could afford."

Lukaku was destined to be a soccer player the day he was born. His father, Roger Lukaku, was a professional soccer player. In addition, his younger brother Jordan was able to imitate Romelu by moving up through Anderlecht's academy system. He now plays for Royal Antwerp in Belgium. His cousin, Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, also plays professionally for Belgium club Mechelen.

He is best known for his lethal left foot and immense physicality to get around defenders. The Belgian-born striker currently plays for Inter Milan. The Italian club is slated to play in the Champions League Final against Manchester City on June 10th. However, his recent years have seen him slipping from his prime form. After bouncing around a variety of teams in the English Premier League, he made his name as the top scorer at Everton throughout 2015. It wasn't long until he signed a record-breaking deal with Manchester United. The fee approached an astounding $100M USD, making him one of the most expensive signings of all time. Soon after signing with the club, Lukaku became the first English Premier League player to sign with Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports.

While Lukaku experienced moderate success at Manchester United, he wasn't the blockbuster striker that the club would've been hoping for. After scoring a moderate 16 goals in his first season, he left the lineup after the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Reflecting on the experience, he told BBC Sport, "For me, the Manchester United experience is one I am grateful for - not a good one because we didn't win and I wanted to win with the club - but they gave me a chance. I got to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I will always be respectful to them. At the end, I thought it was better for me to move on and try different things."

Since his return to Italy, Lukaku has also dealt with incessant racism. In fact, issues related to racism within European football have been an increasingly problematic issue over the past few years. Real Madrid player Vinicius Jr has called for more aggressive sanctions regarding racism, having experienced abuse in Spain's La Liga. Roc Nation officially came out to defend Lukaku via an anti-racism ad published in an Italian newspaper, asking for Italian fans to "do better." Lukaku himself also made a statement. “History repeats. Been through it in 2019.. and 2023 again... I hope the league really take action for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone,” he wrote. “Thank you for the supportive messages.”

However, Romelu Lukaku would reinvigorate his career during his first stint at Inter Milan. Between 2019 to 2021, his impressive scoring streak spurred a renewed interest in him by the Premier League. Chelsea would sign Lukaku to a deal that made him the seventh most expensive soccer player of all time, shelling out $135M USD for his services. Unfortunately, Lukaku's return to England was even more disastrous than his time at Manchester United. Immediately displaying poor form at the beginning of the season, it was clear that he didn't fit in with Chelsea's style of play. Lukaku also self-sabotaged his career through a variety of public statements. There's the iconic interview where stated he was "not happy with the situation" while criticizing then-manager Thomas Tuchel.

10 months after leaving Inter Milan, he was back at the club with a distinctly different aura. Lukaku had gone from one of the elite strikers in Europe to an occasional bench player. However, that isn't to say that he hasn't been effective since returning to the club. During Inter Milan's iconic Champions League run, Lukaku has scored three goals and contributed an assist in the tournament. His recent struggles with form can also be held to issues surrounding injuries. He told CBS Sports, "When I got injured, we didn't realize how tough of an injury it was because I'm an explosive type of player. So when you do your hamstring, it's very tough to come back and I forced it at the World Cup."

[via] [via] [via] [via] [via]