Frank Lampard remains resigned to leaving Chelsea at the end of the season despite fresh indications Thursday that the club were reconsidering whether to offer the midfielder a new contract.
Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, has come under heavy criticism for the failure to extend Lampard’s contract but the situation is still being reviewed following the 34-year-old’s outstanding recent form. Lampard, though, has heard nothing from Chelsea on his future since December and there have been no new discussions, let alone any formal offer.
His agent, Steve Kutner, said last month that Chelsea executives had told Lampard that his contract would not be extended under any circumstances and Kutner’s office stressed yesterday that, as far as they were concerned, the situation had not changed.
The case for keeping Lampard for at least one more year would appear compelling. He has scored 14 goals already this season and, in being his usual model of consistency, has shown no sign that his influence has been significantly reduced by his age. Chelsea have already agreed a one-year extension to Ashley Cole’s contract but there has been no offer to Lampard, whose deal is worth around pounds 130,000 a week.
“Chelsea executives told Frank in Japan during the Club World Cup, then again reconfirmed with me after the Everton victory [both in December], that in no circumstances will he be offered a new contract to stay at the club after the end of this season,” said Kutner.
“Frank has had to accept that and just wants to carry on playing football for Chelsea so as to finish the season as successfully as possible for the club that he loves.”
The stand-off over Lampard, arguably the greatest player in Chelsea’s history, has contributed to an increasingly fractious relationship between the club’s hierarchy and the fans. Supporters at tomorrow’s home game against Wigan Athletic are again expected to make it clear that they want Lampard to stay, while manager Rafael Benitez is likely to be subjected to further hostility.
Lampard has always said that he wants to stay at Chelsea and, with next year’s World Cup now a realistic target, he ideally needs to remain in Europe. Los Angeles Galaxy, Paris St-Germain, Juventus, Manchester United and Arsenal are all interested should he become a free agent at the end of the season.
Roy Hodgson, the England manager, admitted on Wednesday night that he would prefer Lampard to remain in Europe before next year’s World Cup rather than follow David Beckham to Major League Soccer.
Lampard wants to represent England in Brazil next summer at his third World Cup and cast doubt yesterday on the immediate option of the MLS by accepting that he needed to play at a sufficiently high level. “The World Cup is certainly a target for me and, yes, I will try to keep playing at a good enough level to get there,” said Lampard. “I won’t retire from England before that, put it that way.
“Maybe it’s within reach but I’m certainly not getting carried away. I know how football is and from squad to squad it can change and when you get to the age of 34, 35 in the summer, people do look upon things differently.
“I’m very understanding of where I’m at in my career but if I can continue playing for Chelsea and continue contributing here, whether it’s starting or not and a valuable squad member, and when I play do my bit, then it is getting a bit nearer.”
Lampard said that he may seek the advice of Hodgson before deciding where to play next season. “Maybe, but first and foremost I’ll seek my own advice, make my own decisions if that makes sense, but I’m very competitive and I’ve got a sniff of the World Cup,” he said. “It’s only a sniff because it’s a year away and England aren’t even there so I shouldn’t get carried away. Whatever decisions I take, I’ll take with a view across the board to make myself happy, to try and play my best football I can.
“I believe he [Hodgson] is the type of manager who, if you are playing well enough, whatever your age, wherever you are, he will pick you and I hope that’s the case.”
Graeme Le Saux, the former Chelsea defender, suggested yesterday that Lampard may have to sacrifice potential earnings in order to continue playing at the highest possible level.
“Frank has a professional decision to make,” said Le Saux. “He’s got two or three years left playing. Does he go further afield and earn vast amounts of money and secure his financial future, or does he look at a longer-term plan and think, ‘Well, I will sacrifice some of the financial rewards to cement the final years of my career playing for a top-class team’?”
