Romelu Lukaku's redemption following his refusal of a Champions League medal at Chelsea in 2012.
Because he was not part of the matchday squad, the Inter Milan striker declined to touch the trophy following Chelsea's victory in Munich. The 30-year-old Belgian has yet to score past the round of 16 in the competition, but that may all change this weekend.
Consider the following scenario. Chelsea's ecstatic players are boarding their bus after denying Bayern Munich the Champions League in Bavaria when Salomon Kalou, trophy in hand, notices a young teammate who seemed disinterested in the celebrations.
Romelu Lukaku, 18, is on the outskirts of Roberto di Matteo's squad and is present but not really involved. He has made eight league appearances and four more in domestic cups, but he has sat out the drama because he was not picked to the European squad.
As Kalou climbs the bus, he spots Lukaku and sets the trophy on his lap, prompting the Belgian striker to request that it be removed. "I asked him to take it away immediately," Lukaku subsequently told De Standaard. "I didn't want to touch it because, like the Champions League, I had nothing to do with it."
He had practiced with the club on the pitch the day before and then danced with his colleagues in the dressing room, recalling a Didier Drogba speech that was "more beautiful than the title with Anderlecht" that he had won when he was 16. But when the extra medals were distributed, he declined because "I didn't deserve it, and I would find it difficult to accept."
"I don't touch anything I don't deserve," he said in another interview with Het Nieuwsblad. That's why I didn't even touch the FA Cup. I don't like it when people bring up the Champions League. It wasn't me who won, but my team."
In the 11 years afterwards, a player who has cost his clubs a total of £280 million in transfer fees has not only failed to win the most important piece of club silverware, but has also failed to score a single goal beyond the round of 16 despite scoring 18 times in group stage or second round matches.
But tomorrow, although still under contract to Chelsea, the now 30-year-old will try to right the wrongs and silence the naysayers for Inter Milan against a Manchester City squad that has a similarly convoluted connection with the Champions League.
Lukaku is unlikely to start, with former City striker Edin Dzeko set to pair Lautaro Martinez instead, but he should come off the bench towards the conclusion of a challenging season for him despite his loan club's European run.
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