Romelu Lukaku Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts

Romelu Lukaku Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts

Our Romelu Lukaku Biography tells you Facts about his Childhood Story, Early Life, Parents – Adolphine Bolingoli Lukaku (Mum), Roger Lukaku (Dad), Family Background, Wife, Lifestyle, Personal Life and Net Worth.

In a nutshell, we portray the Life History of a Belgian footballer who has made a name for himself – for both club and country.

Lifebogger’s version of Lukaku’s Full Story begins from his early days to when he became famous in the game.

To whet your autobiography appetite on the engaging nature of Romelu Lukaku’s Bio, we’ve gone ahead to portray his early life and rise gallery.

Yes! you’ll agree with me that this photo summarizes his life history.

The Biography of Romelu Lukaku. Behold his Early Life and Big Success Story.
The Biography of Romelu Lukaku. Behold his Early Life and Big Success Story.

A large and physically powerful goal scorer, Lukaku has been known to use his physicality to get around defenders. Thanks to him, Inter did spoil Cristiano Ronaldo’s Serie A title dream.

Despite the accolades to his name, our team found out – that only a few fans have read a concise version of Romelu Lukaku Life Story.

We have taken our time to prepare this article because of our love for the striker. Now, without further ado, let us begin.

Romelu Lukaku Childhood Story:

The boyhood years of the Belgian Striker.
The boyhood years of the Belgian Striker.

For Biography starters, he bears the nicknames – Rocky and the Tank. His full names are Romelu Menama Lukaku Bolingoli.

The Belgian striker was born on the 13th day of May 1993 to his mother, Adolphine Bolingoli Lukaku and father, Roger Lukaku, in the city of Antwerp, Belgium.

Romelu Lukaku came to the world as the first child out of two children (himself and Jordan) born to the marital union between his parents, who we picture below.

From what we see, he took after his mum’s smile and his Daddy’s facial looks.

Meet Romelu Lukaku's parents - His mother, Adolphine Bolingoli and father, Roger Lukaku.
Meet Romelu Lukaku’s parents – His mother, Adolphine Bolingoli and father, Roger Lukaku.

Growing-Up Years:

Romelu Lukaku spent his childhood years alongside his one and only brother. He goes by the name – Jordan Zacharie Lukaku Menama Mokelenge.

Pictured below, you’ll notice they are almost a similar height.

Both of their ages are separated by just a year apart. Romelu’s date of birth is the 13th of May, 1993, while Jordan was born on the 25th of July, 1994.

Meet Romelu and Jordan during their early childhood years.
Meet Romelu and Jordan during their early childhood years.

Romelu and Jordan were not just close, they have remained strongly knitted since their early days.

The boys would always play together and, most importantly, never allowed each other to wander in the dark alone. Put simply, both remained the lens through which they see their childhood.

For the Belgian striker, childhood cannot be complete without two more persons. The first is his cousin, Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo.

Second on the list is no other than Vinnie Frans, whom he regards as his childhood best friend and neighbour.

Vinnie is more than a friend, but another brother. He has remained very close to Lukaku (to date) even before his fame.

You see these two best friends (Romelu and Vinnie)? They've both come a long way in life.
You see these two best friends (Romelu and Vinnie)? They’ve both come a long way in life.

Childhood… Ahh! The good old days when Vinnie, Lukaku, Jordan and Boli played in the big water tub would forever bring the best Nostalgic feeling.

It is pertinent to note that – at that time – Romelu’s growth hormones had already begun making his body look older than his age.

Romelu Lukaku Family Background:

In the neighbourhood where he grew up, his household was considered among the lower-income class. In simple terms, Romelu Lukaku’s parents were poor and broke.

His Dad – a former footballer – earned very little while he played for Belgian’s lowest league. His mum, on the other hand, was simply a full-time housewife.

The Sad Reality of Roger Lukaku – Career Retirement and Poverty:

Playing for small teams – the likes of FC Boom and other low-division Belgian clubs made Romelu Lukaku’s Dad earn little monies.

Sadly, Roger failed to save enough money for the rainy day – in preparation for when he would hang up his boots. To his greatest shock, his football career ended abruptly in the year 1999.

At the time of his forceful retirement, Roger had little savings to take care of his family. To make matters worse, he went on to make a bad investment – a family friend told DailyMail.

Putting his monies in the wrong business squandered the little saving he had gathered. As a result, his entire household had virtually nothing to feed on.

Romelu Lukaku Family Hardship:

Describing his childhood poverty upbringing, Lukaku said his mother would have to borrow bread until she could not afford to pay for it – from a nearby local bakery.

More so, Lukaku revealed that his family lived for weeks without electricity and how there was no hot water to wash after he had returned from training.

The truth is, Romelu never had breakfast during that time. The poor boy ate launch – mostly bread and milk when he returned from school.

While explaining the level of poverty faced by his family, Romelu Lukaku, in an interview, told the Press – in these emotional words:

I remember the exact moment I knew my family was not just poor, but broke. Oftentimes, I can still picture my mum standing near the refrigerator and the look on her face.

I was six years old and that day, I came home for lunch during my break at school.

As I walked into the kitchen,  I saw my mum with the box of milk, like normal.

But this time, she was mixing something in with it. My mum was mixing water in with the milk. We didn’t have enough money to make it last the whole week.

In a painful voice, Adolphine told her son (Romelu) to come drink the heavily diluted milk. She also brought bread (to add) which she had borrowed from a nearby bakery.

A humble Romelu, as he is, never complained as he understood the situation. He, alongside his brother (Jordan) would go on to drink the diluted milk and eat bread almost every day.

Realizing the need to save his Family Situation:

From that day, Romelu understood that his household was really broke and in serious trouble. More so, that it was finished for them – meaning hardship had gotten the better of them.

During those times, he constantly told himself – that he needed to act/grow fast – with the mindset of saving his family.

Asides from food, Romelu Lukaku’s family (just like Neymar experienced – in his childhood) also lacked electricity. By implication, it means there was no heating in his house.

To create heat, his Mum would use gas to boil a pot of water hot. When the water was ready, Romelu and Jordan would use a cup to fetch and splash it on their head – in the name of warming up.

We have here, the heartbreaking video where he talked about his poor family background. More so, the things he went through as a child.

Neighbours turned away, and Only one Person offered help:

Did you know?… The mother of Vinnie Frans (Lukaku’s best friend since childhood) was the only neighbour who felt pity for his family and was willing to help.

Mrs Frans could tell that the Lukakus were really struggling with poverty, and Adolphine (Romelu’s Mum and her friend) needed help.

Sadly, other neighbours refused to offer help in cash or kind. These were people who felt that the problems experienced by Lukaku’s family weren’t theirs – meaning they never caused it.

With no one coming to their aid, Vinnie Frans’ mum just kept helping. She did her best, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, as the family needed more help.

Finally, hope for Lukaku’s Father:

Thankfully, Roger’s former place of work remembered him. Luckily for Romelu Lukaku’s Dad, FC Boom (the club he had retired from) offered him a small job – as a trainer.

The club supported his rent and also got him a small car. With the little income, his family’s standard of living improved. There came normal milk and electricity for the home.

Did you know?… FC Boom helped Roger Lukaku pay his family pay including supporting him with an old car. Find below the exact home Romelu and his family lived in – during that time.

It is pertinent to note that his household – at this time – was no longer broke but remained poor. This is because his Dad’s training job was still low paying.

This is the house where Romelu Lukaku's family lived - in his childhood.
This is the house where Romelu Lukaku’s family lived – in his childhood.

With the little income coming in, Roger Lukaku (with a kind heart) became very generous in sending monies to support his starving family in Congo, Africa.

Now let’s use the next section of our Biography to tell you about the Belgian’s roots.

Romelu Lukaku Family Origin:

Roger – the head of the house – started life as a professional soccer player for Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the struggle to become successful, he moved to Côte d’Ivoire where he played his football before returning to Congo.

At the time of Roger’s return, the Central African state (Congo) was in political turmoil. That year (1990), Mobutu Sese Seko, a former dictator of Zaire (now Congo) forced the country to embark on a series of painful economic reforms.

A few years later, the dictator pushed Congo into political chaos –  which was followed by an all-out Civil War in 1992.

The Congo civil war forced Roger and Aldophine to flee Congo - for fear of their lives and to seek better living abroad.
The Congo civil war forced Roger and Aldophine to flee Congo – for fear of their lives and to seek better living abroad.

Did you know?… it was against this War backdrop that Lukaku’s father decided that he and Adolphine would flee their home country for Europe.

With help from his uncle, Roger went on to settle in Belgium – because Congo (his country) used to be a Belgian colony.

More so, during the colonial era, many Congolese migrated to Belgium to seek a better life.

This map explains Romelu Lukaku Family Origin and migration to Belgium.
This map explains Romelu Lukaku Family Origin and migration to Belgium.

An overseas Congolese community soon emerged in Belgium, and Lukaku’s father opted to settle in the country.

Upon reaching the country, the family sought refuge in Antwerp. In that city, Roger made his living by playing in the lower Belgian league.

Also to note, Adolphine was already pregnant with Romelu while her family were trying to settle in Belgium. She gave birth to him in 1993, while Jordan (her second son) came the next year – 1994.

Romelu Lukaku Education:

When the time got right (age six), he and his best friend (Vinnie) began compulsory schooling.

The quest for education made Lukaku mix with kids from all sorts of backgrounds. Research has it that he wasn’t the brightest kid in school because he lacked concentration.

In fact, Romelu was far happier playing football in his neighbourhood alongside Jordan and Vinnie than doing his homework.

It would interest you to know that the picture below is the football field where Romelu first played his football. As noticed, it is just by the side of his family home.

This is the football field where it all began for Romelu.
This is the football field where it all began for Romelu.

Like Marcus Rashford, the young Belgian was a part of his school’s feeding programme.

The giant-like child (always appearing bigger than others in his age group) is pictured with his best buddy, Vinnie, and his schoolmates.

They were all ready to devour their school meal.

Romelu Lukaku and Vinnie are pictured participating in their school feeding programme. That day was also the birthday of his classmate.
Romelu Lukaku and Vinnie are pictured participating in their school feeding programme. That day was also the birthday of his classmate.

Lukaku suffered Racism in School:

Described as a humble boy, Lukaku never got himself into trouble with other school kids.

Unfortunately, because he is black and far bigger than his mates of a similar age group, poor Romelu automatically became a victim of negative stereotyping.

Only one person knew the amount of racism he suffered in school. According to his best friend, Vinnie, Romelu Lukaku regularly got the blame for nearly all fights.

In an interview with Daily Mail-Online, he gave an account of Lukaku’s school story – in his words;

Belgian star Romelu Lukaku struggled against racism at school. He was always condemned as guilty because he was ‘that big black boy’.

Actually, he was the best-behaved boy I knew, someone who would never hurt a fly. It was always others who started it, often with racist insults.

Romelu Lukaku Untold Biography Facts – Disappointed in his Dad:

Romelu Lukaku spent an important period of his time at Chelsea fighting to release his father Roger from a Belgian prison after he was sentenced to 15 months in jail for assaulting a female and keeping her in the boot of his car.

He was stunned by the verdict after failing to attend the trial. He claimed that even though the woman was indeed a former lover of the dad, she must have invented most part of her story.

Lukaku Snr was supposed to attend his trial, but missed it under the claim of wasn’t been informed.

Romelu Lukaku was disappointed in his dad after the Belgium authorities found out that he had moved to another part of Brussels to register a new address in other to evade his trial. This led to quick persecution and sentencing to jail for 15 months.

This is a before and after photo of Romelu Lukaku's Dad.
This is a before and after photo of Romelu Lukaku’s Dad.

‘My client was sentenced because he didn’t appear in court,’ his lawyer said. ‘He doesn’t belong in jail.

His wife is suffering, but his sons, Romelu and Jordan, are doing everything to get their dad free as soon as possible.’

‘Mr Roger Lukaku while in jail lodged an objection to the judgement. This was done in other to have the case tried again. However, all efforts made failed. He was released from jail after 15 months of hard labour.

His jail time was a hard period for him as this had an adverse effect on his health as seen above. He was supposed to get a larger punishment for the added offence of evading court by relocating.

Romelu Lukaku stopped this from happening as he got the best lawyer for his dad. His running around to get his dad safe and release affected his football career in terms of low performance at Chelsea.

This, in addition to his dad’s infidelity issues, amounts to the reason why they aren’t the best of friends.

Romelu Lukaku Julia Vandenweghe Love Story:

At the point of writing, the tall and physically strong striker is married yet neither is he single. He has a lovely girlfriend by the name Julia Vandenweghe.

Both are in deep love with each other.

Julia Vandenweghe and Romelu Lukaku have not been shy about showing their affection for each other in the public eyes.

He prides her everywhere he takes her to. They’ve been dating for a couple of years already and everyone who knows of it believes it would surely end up in marriage.

Julia is very comfortable with the size of  Romelu, her boyfriend. Her comfort in him can be explained in 6 reasons namely,

First is his Gene. Romelu is a potential mate and can produce viable offspring. Secondly is security. He has muscles that make her feel secure.

Julia knows Romelu can protect her, no matter what. Thirdly, Romelu is a good provider. He cares for her and provides for all her needs.

Fourth, Romelu is a trophy boyfriend who has a good dress sense. For Julia, having a good-looking boyfriend really gives her an advantage.

Apart from being handsome and good looking, Romelu is very rich and socio-economically stable. As a matter of fact, what more could she want from him?.

They both spend their best moments hanging out at outdoor events. Without a doubt, Julia is a pretty girl, with the most amazing curls and flawless face and skin. 

She once worked as a Leisure, Travel & Tourism Professional in Belgium, before that she worked in customer service at Costa Crociere.

Romelu Lukaku made her resign and has now made her an entrepreneur in her work line.

Romelu Lukaku Childhood Biography – How he looked like at age 10:

Everyone will say they’re lucky they didn’t play against him

If you played football with your age mate when you were a kid, then you’ll remember the joy of having someone who is of the same age but appears very big and intimidating.

This is what Lukaku looked like at the age of 10.

This was how Romelu Lukaku looked like at the age of 10.
This was how Romelu Lukaku looked like at the age of 10.

He was someone everyone feared because he is always the biggest lad on the field of play. Romelu appeared like someone who would stay at the goal post and bully any attacker that comes to score.

He still has that pretty immense physical presence, this time in the opposite side of the pitch (attacking).

Romelu Lukaku Biography – Untold Football Story:

Lukaku joined his local team Rupel Boom at the age of five. After four seasons at Rupel Boom, Lukaku was discovered by scouts of Lierse SK, a Belgian Pro League team with an established youth academy.

He played for Lierse from 2004 until 2006, scoring 121 goals in 68 games.

After Lierse were relegated from the Belgian Pro League, Anderlecht bought no fewer than 13 youth players from Lierse in the 2006 mid-season, one of whom was Lukaku.

He played three more years as a youth player with Anderlecht, scoring 131 goals in 93 games.

Lukaku made his professional debut while still at school at the age of 16, and became the 2009–10 top scorer in Belgium as Anderlecht won the Belgian championship. He also won the Belgian Ebony Shoe in 2011.

In the 2011 summer transfer window, Lukaku joined Premier League club, Chelsea.

He did not appear regularly in his first season there, and spent the following two seasons on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Everton respectively, signing permanently for the latter for a club-record £28 million in 2014.

Lukaku made his senior international debut for Belgium in 2010 and has since earned over 50 caps. He has also represented the country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016.

Romelu Lukaku Biography – Winning the Ebony Shoe Award:

The Ebony Shoe award is a football award in Belgium given annually to the best African or African origin player in the Belgian Pro League.

The jury is composed of the coaches of league clubs, the Belgian national team manager, sports journalists, and honorary juror(s).

As of 2014, Mbark Boussoufa (3 wins), Daniel Amokachi (2 wins) and Vincent Kompany (2 wins) are the only players to have won the trophy more than once.

Romelu Lukaku Biography – How he fell in Love with Chelsea Football Club:

This was according to Lukaku;

“We were at school and we had three days off in London to visit a lot of museums. I didn’t know we were visiting the Bridge so I was quite shocked.

I was 16, and already playing with Anderlecht. It was a dream come true to visit where my hero (Didier Drogba) plays.

From that day, I never stopped dreaming of playing for Chelsea FC. 

I dreamed to play here since I was 10 years old, thinking about shaking hands with all those players like John Terry and Frank Lampard and my hero, Didier Drogba. it was amazing to see my dreams coming to reality.

Visiting his old School:

Romelu Lukaku currently has a Baccalaureate (BSc) in public relations.

According to him, “Going and doing well at the university while having football as your first career was very difficult for me.

It got to a time where I had 12 exams and it was also the play-offs in the Belgian league at the same time.

Having my exams in the middle was a real bad feeling. Despite the hurdles, I was glad I made it. It’s something I am very happy about”.

Romelu Lukaku makes out time to visit his Community Primary School to educate the next generation of football-interested children.

He taught (Boys and Girls) about the need to never give up on their education while chasing their football careers. He did this while performing his Kick It Out Ambassadorial duties.

Romelu Lukaku Biography -How Pastor David Helped Him Overcome his Fears:

It was Pastor David Luis who prayed for him during his trying times with Chelsea FC.

When he is down, Romelu sees David Luiz at his side to console him and advise him to keep his head up. That action speaks volumes as to why he respects him to date.

Romelu Lukaku receiving prayers from Pastor David Luiz.
Romelu Lukaku receiving prayers from Pastor David Luiz.

Today, it is said that his prayers for Lukaku paid off. Beyond reasonable doubt, there is power in prayers. Though God chooses those he wishes to bless them. For Romelu Lukaku, God’s blessed came upon him afterwards.

According to Lukaku, “David Luiz advised me that sometimes I need to lose in order to win the future! He told me to make a decision.

He told me I might need to leave Chelsea for a smaller club. That I was the only reason for a great comeback in my career. I obeyed everything he said, and it came to pass”

This advice came when Romelu Lukaku felt distraught when he missed the final penalty of an important shootout for Chelsea.

Playing PlayStation 4 on the Train:

Romelu Lukaku and Belgium teammates Kevin Mirallas are not just close friends. They are also addicted to the PlayStation video game.

Both players are fond of taking both TV and PlayStation 4 on the train to play while they journey to away games.

Lukaku loves playing Playstation (even inside the train). Have you noticed his favourite team is Real Madrid?
Lukaku loves playing Playstation (even inside the train). Have you noticed his favourite team is Real Madrid?

Lukaku is the top flight’s most multilingual player. The 23-year-old speaks Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, English and also understands German.

Romelu Lukaku Paul Pogba Basketball Game:

Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku are good friends and age mates. They love to show off their fit masculine frame and abs as they often times played basketball during holidays.

Here is a video of Lukaku going against Thierry Henry in Basketball.

Romelu Lukaku Bio – Scoring More Goals than Anyone in the World:

Lukaku has scored 125 goals in his career at the time of writing. At the same age of 23, C Ronaldo had scored 110, Luis Suarez 107, Wayne Rooney 100 and Zlatan Ibrahimovic 65.

Romelu Lukaku Wierd Facts:

(1) Lukaku carried his mum home from the hospital after she gave birth to him.

(2) When Lukaku does press-ups, he doesn’t push himself up, he pushes the world down!

(3) When Romelu Lukaku arrived late to training, Roberto Martinez punished all the other players for coming early.

(4) Ghosts sit around the campfire and tell Romelu Lukaku stories.

(5) When Alexander Bell invented the phone, he had three missed calls from Romelu Lukaku.

(6) The dark is afraid of Lukaku.

(7) Paul Scholes can hit a tree with a football from 50 yards away, and Lukaku can hit Scholes with a tree from 100 yards away.

(8) Children are warned not to run with scissors. Scissors are warned not to run with Lukaku.

Romelu Lukaku LifeBogger Biography Rankings:

Lukaku wants to be known for his goals, technique, speed and fast-finishing style. Here is LifeBogger Rankings.

Appreciation Note:

Thank you for taking out time to read LifeBogger’s Bio on Romelu Lukaku. We strive for accuracy and fairness in our quest to deliver football stories of the Red Devils.

Indeed, you will find the story of Roméo Lavia and Amadou Onana as super exciting.

Please reach out to us via comment if you find anything that doesn’t look right in our memoir of the Big Belgian.

Hi there! I am Hale Hendrix, a passionate football enthusiast and writer dedicated to uncovering the untold stories of footballers' childhood and biography. With a deep love for the beautiful game, I have spent countless hours researching and interviewing players to bring to light the lesser-known details of their lives.

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