In his first season with FC Internazionale Milano, the Belgian striker scored seven goals in last season’s UEFA Europa League as he helped the Nerazzurri to reach the final, won by Sevilla FC 3-2 in Germany in August.

The 27-year-old international obtained a total of 270 points in a vote by a jury comprising the coaches from the 48 clubs that participated in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams. The final result was based on the total number of votes cast by the coaches and journalists.

Manchester United FC midfielder Bruno Fernandes came second with 128 points, while former Sevilla FC player Éver Banega (now at Al-Shabab FC) was third, finishing with a total of 118 points.

In a video-recorded message, Lukaku said:

“First of all, I would like to congratulate Sevilla personally for having won the final tournament. I want to thank my family and my agents for their support. I also want to thank my coach and the club staff, the board, and the president for their trust and for helping me throughout this season.

“But most importantly, I want to thank my team-mates, who have been great with me from the first day I joined. They have been like brothers to me, like real family members. Everyday day I come to the training, I come with a smile and this is because of them, they make me want to work harder.

I hope that this year we will reach even greater heights, and we are going to have great successes together.”