With apologies to 2pac and Dr. Dre, it’s “California Love” for Manchester United, who went all Hollywood as they unveiled their newest player, Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku has been in “the state where you never find a dance floor empty,” as the song says, partying it up (a little too much actually, as he has a L.A. court date) while on holiday.
Joining him for good times in the sunshine was BFF and now, new teammate Paul Pogba, who was also in southern California on vacation. It wasn’t all Hollywood parties though as the duo also trained together last week at UCLA, United’s training site for their summer preseason tour.
United officially unveiled Lukaku today, with the hashtag #RedRom and the announcement of a five year deal with an option to extend to a sixth. It’s been widely reported that the transfer fee on this deal is £75 million. The club also issued statements from both Lukaku and Manager Jose Mourinho. Lukaku could make his debut Saturday in an international friendly against the L.A. Galaxy.
The statement attributed to Mourinho reads:
“Romelu is a natural fit for Manchester United. He is a big personality and a big player. It is only natural that he wants to develop his career at the biggest club. He will be a great addition to the group and I know they will make him very welcome. I am really looking forward to working with him again.”
Behold the beautiful snaps of the picturesque Hollywood area scenery. Quoting Randy Newman, in his famous song serving as a love letter to the city (it also serves as the L.A. Lakers and L.A. Dodgers victory paean), “look at that mountain, look at those trees” in the photos below:
Our latest box office signing is Made for Manchester: @RomeluLukaku9! https://t.co/q2QG4SEGvn pic.twitter.com/cr7N5zOmZK
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 10, 2017
A statement from Romelu Lukaku reads:
“I would like to start by thanking Everton and the fans for the last four wonderful seasons, I have made some special friends and we have shared some amazing moments. However, when Manchester United and Jose Mourinho come knocking at the door it is an opportunity of a lifetime and one that I could not turn down.
“You could see the fight, determination and the spirit in this team during the Europa League final and I want to become a part of that. I cannot wait to run out at Old Trafford in front of 75,000 fans but before that pre-season is where the hard work starts and I am looking forward to that first training session.”
Welcome to Hollywood, Mr. runner-up for the Golden Boot Award last summer.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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