Inter Milan CEO Giuseppe Marotta has insisted that not a single person at the club is dwelling on Romelu Lukaku's decision to snub a return to San Siro this summer.
The Belgium international fired the Nerazzurri to the 2020-21 Serie A title with 24 top-flight goals under Antonio Conte, before departing in a £97.5m deal to Chelsea that same summer.
However, Lukaku struggled to reacclimatise to life back in the Premier League and made a rod for his own back with the fans after admitting that he was pining for a return to Serie A.
The 30-year-old's calls were answered last summer as he made the move back to Inter on a season-long loan, during which he scored 14 goals and provided seven assists in 37 games, winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana alongside picking up a Champions League runners-up medal.
Another stint at San Siro - either on loan or permanently - was mooted for Lukaku once the season had concluded, but the striker was also understood to have been in talks with Juventus, which allegedly left Inter feeling betrayed.
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A transfer to Juventus did not materialise for Lukaku, but the ex-Manchester United man has now reunited with Jose Mourinho at Roma and boasts seven goals from his first eight games for the Giallorossi.
Lukaku's move to Stadio Olimpico could be made permanent for £37m in the summer of 2024, and Marotta was recently asked about the striker's behaviour in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
However, the Inter CEO insisted that the Chelsea man is no longer a topic of discussion at San Siro and refused to criticise his conduct, saying: "Lukaku represents our past, it's just our past," as quoted by Fabrizio Romano.
"No one is thinking about him at Inter, not even one single person His behaviour? It happens in football. It's not the first time it happens."
While Marotta was willing to let bygones be bygones with Lukaku, the Nerazzurri chief hit out at former centre-back Milan Skriniar, who left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer this summer.
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The Slovakia international blossomed into one of Europe's leading centre-backs during his time in the blue and black jersey, and he continued to be selected regularly while he was running his contract down.
Marotta revealed that Inter tried on numerous occasions to tie Skriniar down to fresh terms, but he always rebuffed their advances, and the 66-year-old blasted the defender for 'disrespecting' the club.
"Skriniar acted like he wanted to sign a new deal with us... but the reality is that his mind was on something else," Marotta added. "I felt disappointed by Skriniar. He disrespected Inter. We offered him multiple solutions including release clause... he always said no."
Marotta also took a swipe at Skriniar while lavishing praise on club captain Lautaro Martinez, who has turned down interest from elsewhere to continue at San Siro, adding: "Lautaro is not like Skriniar.
"If he wants to stay, we're also keen on a new deal and we will be on the right way together. It's great to have a player who rejects many top clubs in order to stay where he is."
Martinez leads the way in the Serie A scoring charts with 10 goals from just eight games this season, although Inter are two points behind leaders AC Milan at the top of the standings.
Ben Knapton
