- Tragedy has hit the Lukaku family as Romelu Lukaku father, Roger Lukaku, has passed away at the age of 58
- Former Manchester United and Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku confirmed the passing on of his father via social media on Monday, September 29
Tragedy has hit the Lukaku family as Romelu Lukaku father, Roger Lukaku, has passed away at the age of 58. Roger is a former professional footballer who played in Belgium and represented Zaire (now DR Congo) at international level.
Napoli forward Romelu Lukaku confirmed the passing on of his father via social media on Monday, September 29. The former Manchester United and Chelsea man posted a photo of himself as a small boy with his father Roger and the captioned it with heartbreaking tribute.
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“Thank you for teaching me everything I know. I’m forever grateful and appreciate you. Life will never be the same
Protecting and guiding me like no else could. I won’t be the same. The pain and tears are flowing big time. But God will give me the strength to get myself back together.” Lukaku wrote on Instagram.
Tributes have poured in from football fans since yesterday. The Belgian FA, Jeremy Doku and Rio Ferdinand are among those who have sympathized with Lukaku following the death of his father.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Lukaku family, following the passing of Roger Lukaku.” The Belgian FA wrote.
Did Romelu Lukaku Father Play Football?
Romelu Lukaku’s father, Roger, was also a professional footballer. Born in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), Roger took his early steps in football at Vita Sports before getting the attention of Ivory Coast club Africa Sports d’Abidjan in 1987.
Roger landed in Europe for the first time in 1990 when he was signed by Belgian Second Division club FC Boom. He helped the club secure promotion to the the Belgian First Division two years after his arrival. However, he secured a transfer to RFC Seraing after Boom were relegated in 1993.
The striker spent two seasons at Seraing and helped the club finish position three on the table before moving to Germinal Ekeren. Roger spent the 1996-97 season playing in Turkey for Gençlerbirliği. He then returned to Belgium and had spells at Mechelen and Oostende before ending his professional football career in 1999 at the age of 32.
However, Roger still continued to play the beautiful game in lower divisions for clubs such as RJS Ath-Maffle, KFC Wintam and KGR Katelijne. The former footballer went bankrupt after ending his playing career.
At international level, Romelu Lukaku father played for the Zaire national team from 1990 to 1996. He represented his country of birth at the 1994 and 1996 African Cup of Nations. He also played at the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Roger managed a total of six goals in 13 appearances for Zaire.
Roger Lukaku Sons
Many football fans know Romelu Lukaku as Roger Lukaku’s son. However, the former footballer also has another son who plays football professionally.
Jordan Lukaku is Romelu Lukaku’s younger brother. He was born on July 25, 1991, and began his football journey at KFC Wintam in Belgium. He then joined his father’s former club, Boom FC, where he continued with his development. He spent his last years as a youth footballer at Lierse and Anderlecht.
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Jordan made his professional debut in 2011 at Anderlecht. He spent two years at the club and then joined Oostende. The talented left-back then caught the attention of Italian Serie A club Lazio who signed him in 2016. After six years in Italy, he moved to Spain where he signed with Ponferradina. The 31-year-old most recently played for Turkish side Adanaspor. Jordan played for Belgium at youth levels and represented the senior team from 2015 to 2017, earning eight caps.
