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Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has revealed that he wouldn’t have left the London club if they had offered him a new contract.
The 36-year-old left Chelsea to sign for New York City as a free agent but could feature in the Premier League for Manchester City since the new season does not begin till early next year.
“I would have obviously stayed if Chelsea had offered me another year. There was no reason for me to leave.
“Yes, I wanted to play a bit more regularly but I’m not stupid.
“If Chelsea had given me a new contract it would have been mad not to take it at the time.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t think I could still do it. If I felt like that I wouldn’t have gone to City on loan.
“I had a chat with Jose Mourinho and both he and the club were always great with me. The decision was made – and I don’t know who made it.”
The midfield stalwart who recently announced his international retirement said he didn’t want to play a bit part role either. He revealed that the Champions League win was bound to bring changes at the club.
“When we won the Champions League I knew there would be some sort of evolution. Chelsea wanted to bring in some younger players and it was the right move for the club.
“We had a fantastic spine of players who helped carry us through from one manager to another and win things, but it doesn’t last forever.
“Jose was brilliant about it. I didn’t walk out with any bad feelings towards him or the club.
“I knew things were coming to a head but I’m realistic and, in football, I move on quite quickly.
“I also felt like I didn’t want to be a player who faded away – with that being the last memory people had of me.
“So maybe it was the right time. Maybe it was right that the club took it out of my hands.
“I certainly didn’t want to go until I was 40 and just being rolled out for the Capital One Cup after the great times I had at the club.
“What I really want now is to make a really positive impact in my time at Manchester City and then again in the next stage of my career.”
