Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli, born on May 13, 1993, in Antwerp, began his football journey with Ruppel Boom, KFC Wintam, and Lierse before joining Anderlecht’s youth setup in 2006. At just 16 years and 11 days old, he made his senior debut for Anderlecht in 2009, breaking Nii Lamptey’s record as the club’s youngest debutant ever.

By the 2009-2010 season, Lukaku had taken the Belgian league by storm: 15 goals, top scorer, and a spot on the Golden Boot podium — all before turning 17. He was on the radar of Europe’s biggest clubs in no time.

A powerful and fast striker with a relentless work ethic, Lukaku wasn’t always praised for his technique early on, but his focus and drive made up for it. His younger brother Jordan also passed through Anderlecht’s ranks, though his career took a different turn.

In August 2011, Chelsea signed Romelu for €15 million. His first season saw limited playing time, but loans to West Brom (17 goals) and Everton (15 goals) set him on fire. Everton made the deal permanent, and Lukaku scored 53 goals over three seasons.

In 2017, he reunited with José Mourinho at Manchester United. The transfer fee? €85 million — one of the highest ever. By age 25, he had over 100 Premier League goals and had become Belgium’s all-time top scorer.

Where will this "Sportingboy" story end? No one knows. But Anderlecht will always be proud of the prodigy they helped shape.