Roc Nation Sports has parted company with Romelu Lukaku in what represents another blow for the Chelsea striker, who is on loan at Roma.
Lukaku had worked with Roc Nation, whose football roster includes Kevin De Bruyne, Vinicius Junior and Federico Dimarco, since the end of 2018 but must now look for new representation.
Since re-signing for Chelsea for £97.5 million from Inter Milan two years ago, Lukaku has fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge, angered Inter and Juventus, turned down a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia and now lost the expertise of Roc.
Roc has not commented on the split, but Lukaku is no longer featured on the company’s website and it is understood its decision was taken shortly after the player’s loan move to Roma was confirmed.
During an association that lasted almost five years, Lukaku enjoyed some of the best periods of his career under Roc’s guidance but the 30-year-old has become a polarising figure among clubs, supporters, managers and even owners.
It was Roc, through its existing relationship with co-controlling owner Todd Boehly, that convinced Chelsea to loan Lukaku back to Inter after just one unhappy season back in London.
And it was Roc that had to pick up the pieces this summer after Lukaku turned down Saudi and infuriated Inter to the point they withdrew their interest in re-signing him. He then decided late in the window that he did not want to move to Juventus.
Chelsea had been adamant that they would not send Lukaku on loan again this season, demanding a permanent transfer, but Roc convinced Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali to soften their stance at the last minute to facilitate a temporary switch to Roma.
Lukaku has used lawyer Sebastien Ledure, who has not been a popular figure with all the clubs he has been at, while Italian agent Federico Pastorello also worked with the Belgian since he split from Mino Raiola, who negotiated his move to Manchester United.
Losing Roc’s influence within Chelsea could make life difficult for Lukaku if Roma do not decide to sign him permanently at the end of the season. The club have set a £37 million release clause in his renegotiated contract, which also includes a big pay cut should he be forced to return to Stamford Bridge next summer.
Lukaku has already opened his goalscoring account for Roma after being given a hero’s welcome by the club’s fans and also netted twice for Belgium in the last international break.
