Lampard set to threaten Chelsea with walk-out
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Chelsea have rejected a formal approach from Inter Milan to sign midfielder Frank Lampard, the club have confirmed.
BBC Sport revealed on Monday that Inter had contacted the Blues to begin talks in a bid to reunite Lampard with former boss Jose Mourinho at the San Siro.
However, a statement on the club's website read: "Chelsea have informed Inter that we will not enter into any discussions regarding the transfer."
Lampard's current contract at Stamford Bridge expires next summer.
Should he fail to agree a new deal with Chelsea before then, the 30-year-old would be free to leave the club without his new club paying a fee.
That appears to be reflected in Inter's valuation of the midfielder with reports suggesting they were preparing a £6.5m bid, but the Blues appear reluctant to allow Lampard to leave now.
And BBC football correspondent Jonathan Legard said on Monday that Chelsea still expect Lampard to see out the final year of his contract and, if anything, sign a new longer-term deal.
Lampard met new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari on Monday as the Chelsea squad returned to their Cobham base for pre-season training.
Scolari may shed some light on the situation on Tuesday when he addresses the English media for the first time.
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Lampard go join Mourinho lah... He needs you. You will be wasting your time if you stay unless you want to run out your contract then walk away for free then thats understandable lah... Big sign on fee...
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FRANK LAMPARD'S Chelsea future was plunged into confusion this afternoon. New Blues boss Phil Scolari, in his first public press conference, claimed he had met Lampard and the England midfielder had assured him he was staying at Stamford Bridge. But Lampard's agent Steve Kutner immediately released a statement insisting the player's future was far from sorted.
Kutner said: "I'd just like to make the situation clear. "Felipe had a very amicable chat with Frank, who told him he always envisaged ending his playing career at Chelsea football club. "He also told him that unfortunately terms for a new contract cannot be agreed with the board, despite discussions having been ongoing for over two years. "This, coupled with everything that happened to Frank at the end of last season, means his position remains completely unresolved."
Scolari had earlier claimed: "I met with Frank Lampard yesterday and I spoke to him about his future for 15 minutes. "I asked him if he wants to stay at Chelsea. "He told me he wants to stay and play for Chelsea for many years."
But Kuttner's revelation will spark speculation Lampard could be heading for the Stamford Bridge exit door.
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Originally posted by zocoss:
Lampard go join Mourinho lah... He needs you. You will be wasting your time if you stay unless you want to run out your contract then walk away for free then thats understandable lah... Big sign on fee...
tell that to ronaldo
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Originally posted by omgukilledkenny:
Chelsea have rejected a formal approach from Inter Milan to sign midfielder Frank Lampard, the club have confirmed.
BBC Sport revealed on Monday that Inter had contacted the Blues to begin talks in a bid to reunite Lampard with former boss Jose Mourinho at the San Siro.
However, a statement on the club's website read: "Chelsea have informed Inter that we will not enter into any discussions regarding the transfer."
Lampard's current contract at Stamford Bridge expires next summer. <!-- E SF -->
Should he fail to agree a new deal with Chelsea before then, the 30-year-old would be free to leave the club without his new club paying a fee.
That appears to be reflected in Inter's valuation of the midfielder with reports suggesting they were preparing a £6.5m bid, but the Blues appear reluctant to allow Lampard to leave now.
And BBC football correspondent Jonathan Legard said on Monday that Chelsea still expect Lampard to see out the final year of his contract and, if anything, sign a new longer-term deal.
Lampard met new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari on Monday as the Chelsea squad returned to their Cobham base for pre-season training.
Scolari may shed some light on the situation on Tuesday when he addresses the English media for the first time.
the bid is 7.95m (pounds) not 6.5m. And i think it should be more for such a good player, dont u think so? such and insult!
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Originally posted by zocoss:
Lampard go join Mourinho lah... He needs you. You will be wasting your time if you stay unless you want to run out your contract then walk away for free then thats understandable lah... Big sign on fee...
im sure ronaldo would love to join the likes of raul, nistelrooy, robben etc at real. Those players might be his childhood favourites!
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FRANK LAMPARD and Chelsea are at war after an amazing six-hour wrangle left the midfielder on a knife-edge. New Blues boss Big Phil Scolari insisted Lampard is STAYING.
But SunSport can reveal club owner Roman Abramovich has REFUSED to sanction the new five-year deal Lampard is demanding. And Lamps’ agent issued a statement insisting Scolari’s comments were inaccurate and that no new deal had been finalised.
To add to the tension, Inter Milan exploited the rift — by slapping in a second bid for the England star — raising the offer from £6.5million to £8m. It now seems certain Lampard’s love affair with Stamford Bridge is over — with the player feeling betrayed by a club that will not reward his loyalty with a new long-term deal.
On Monday, Scolari had told the 30-year-old he would be able to get the go-ahead for the new deal. But after just one day in charge, the Brazilian seems to have already been undermined by Abramovich — who refuses to give in to Lampard’s call for £140,000 a week for five years.
Amazingly, Scolari still told the world’s media at a press conference that he believed the England midfielder would stay. The Brazilian said: “I spoke with Frank and he said he wants to stay — and wants to play for Chelsea for many years. “I was happy, as Chelsea needs Lampard and Lampard likes Chelsea.”
As SunSport revealed yesterday, Inter Milan want Lamps to walk out. We believe their new bid will be rejected — which leaves Lamps in limbo and Scolari embarrassed.
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Frank Lampard likely to exit Chelsea after row
Frank Lampard was last night on the brink of leaving Chelsea for Inter Milan after an extraordinary training-ground confrontation with Peter Kenyon, the club's chief executive. As the Italian club came in with an increased offer of £8 million - which Chelsea said they would reject - it became abundantly clear that the England midfielder was far from happy.
Lampard told Kenyon of his disappointment that the club's new manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari, had disclosed a conversation in which he claimed the England midfielder said that he was happy to stay at Stamford Bridge for "many years".
At the end of a dramatic day for Scolari, who was presented by Chelsea to the world's media yesterday lunchtime, Lampard's strained relations with the club over his £125,000-a-week contract looked to have broken down irretrievably.
Lampard's agent, Steve Kutner, insisted that the contract situation was "completely unresolved", while the midfielder waited for Kenyon to return from Scolari's press conference to voice his displeasure. The two met in the canteen of Chelsea's Cobham training ground, where they held what was described as a "discussion" about the England player's future.
Lampard has been trying to persuade Chelsea to offer a four-year contract worth more than £130,000 a week in response to the strong overtures from Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan. The Italian champions are likely to put together an even more lucrative proposition for Lampard as he seeks parity with John Terry, his highest-earning team-mate on £135,000 a week.
Scolari said: "He wants to stay and to play for Chelsea for many years. I was very happy because I think Chelsea needs Lampard and Lampard likes Chelsea. Now it's a minimum of questions to solve it and Lampard will be with us more time than one year."
But Kutner countered: "Frank told him that, unfortunately, terms for a new contract cannot be agreed with the board, despite discussions having been ongoing for over two years. This means his position remains completely unresolved."
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i think he will leave for sure.
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Scolari went on to the world’s media and spoke of Lamps’ staying unaware of the full extent of developments that morning.
FRANK LAMPARD’S Chelsea career effectively came to an end yesterday — in the same spectacular fashion he played for the Stamford Bridge club.
Seven years, two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two league cups. And in 369 games for the Blues he scored 110 goals.
But during a six-hour meltdown, Lamps’ huge contribution to Chelsea was thrown to the wind in a storm of accusation and argument. And what should have been a parade for Phil Scolari’s unveiling as their new boss quickly turned into a conflict with one of the club’s pivotal players.
Here is how the day of drama unfolded:
9.30am: Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon informs the Lampard camp that Blues owner Roman Abramovich will not give him the five-year deal he craves.
11.25am: Chelsea issue a statement on their website confirming they have been contacted by Inter Milan. But they claim there is no bid for Lamps — despite our back page exclusive in yesterday’s Sun. They also state they will not negotiate for the midfielder.
1.15pm: New boss Scolari introduces himself to English football by claiming Lampard is ‘happy at Chelsea and will stay for at least one year. Hopefully many’.
2.05pm: Inter president Massimo Moratti speaks to Italian journalists in Milan refuting Chelsea’s claim they have not made an official bid for Lamps and confirming the Sun story was correct.
2.35pm: Lampard’s agent Steve Kutner issues a statement contradicting Scolari’s claim, insisting the player’s future ‘remains completely unresolved’.
3.15pm: After seeing Scolari’s version of events on TV at the club training ground, Lamps goes to see chief executive Kenyon in his office.
But Kenyon has not yet returned from the Press conference venue two miles away.
3.54pm: Inter Milan fax a new bid of £8million to Chelsea which club directors insist ‘will be rejected’.
4.15pm: Lamps leaves Kenyon’s office after a short meeting and speaks with Scolari. There is no disagreement between the manager and his midfielder.
But as things stood last night, Chelsea and Lampard were at the point of no return. The simple fact of the sorry matter is Chelsea are gravely at risk of losing a player who has been outstanding for them.
All for an amount of money billionaire Abramovich would class as loose change. From his point of view, Lamps believes he deserves a five-year deal on around £140,000-per-week, which would see him end his illustrious career at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea, however, are adamant that four years is the maximum they will offer a player who has only just turned 30.
However, Blues skipper John Terry signed a five-year £130k-per-week contract last summer.
But in the words of one Chelsea director: “JT is 27 and will be virtually the same age as Frank when his current deal expires. We are being realistic.” But Chelsea did award deals similar to Terry’s to Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack.
Both players are older than Lampard and have not achieved anywhere near as much for Chelsea as the England man. Failure to reach an agreement on a new deal over the past two years has made Lampard wonder how valued he is by the club.
Yesterday, he appeared to get an answer with a stick of dynamite attached. On Monday, Scolari met Lamps and asked him if he wanted to stay. That conversation was recounted by the Brazilian yesterday. He said: “I like him as a player, as a person and I met him on Monday. I asked him, ‘Frank, I’ve heard this, this and this’. He said to me, ‘Boss, this, this, this and this, but I want to stay’. I was happy.
“I told him I was happy that he stayed with us. I don’t know for how long — that is not important for me — but I said I want you here. He said, ‘I will stay and I am happy’.”
During the meeting, Scolari assured Lampard he would tell Abramovich and Kenyon that they should award him five years during a dinner meeting they had on Monday night.
Yesterday morning, however, Kutner was told that Chelsea’s offer remained the same four years as had been previously stated. That proposition was rejected and Chelsea then issued their ‘hands off’ statement to Inter apparently to further inflame the situation.
Scolari was then shown off to the world’s media and spoke of Lamps’ staying unaware of the full extent of developments that morning. Lamps saw the comments on TV and spoke to the manager later who explained that he had simply given his interpretation of the situation along with his hope that Lampard would stay.
Chelsea, however, appear to have ulterior motives. A bid of £8m from Inter was rejected. The standpoint from the club is that they will not sell their star player to ex-boss Jose Mourinho. After all, they already know how bad it will look if the ‘Special One’ returns to the Bridge next season to defeat them. How much worse would it be if Frank Lampard was dominating the midfield for Inter?
Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti has described Frank Lampard as a ‘champion’ and would welcome the Chelsea midfielder’s arrival at the Nerazzurri club. Lampard is reportedly the No1 target of new Inter boss Mourinho, who enjoyed an excellent relationship with the England player during his time in charge at Stamford Bridge.
With Inter looking to secure a big-name signing to celebrate their centenary year, a host of players have been linked with the Milan club, who won their third consecutive Serie A league title last season. And Argentine international Zanetti believes Lampard would be the ideal candidate. He said: “I have played against him only at international level and he is a true champion. “He defends, attacks and shoots well. There are very few players around who are as complete as he is.”
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All this nonsense just because of a 1 year different in the contract... Crazy!
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Originally posted by reyes:
i think he will leave for sure.
I think he will stay at the end... Its only money in the way... And Roman has plenty of it... Shouldn't be too much of a problem... -
Blues refuse to lose Lamps to Inter
Peter Kenyon says Frank Lampard serve out the rest of his contract at Chelsea and leave for free next summer if he does not sign a new deal.
The Blues chief executive also confirmed that Inter Milan's only bid so far, of £7.95 million, will be rejected by the club.
Reports have claimed Lampard is unhappy that his situation remains unresolved but Kenyon is adamant that their offer remains on the table.
"The situation is ongoing," said Kenyon. "We have always maintained that we want Frank to stay and an offer was made to that effect.
"That offer is still on the table. Frank is under contract and he still has one year to run on that.
"We'd like to hope we can reach an agreement but if we can't we have always worked on the basis that Frank sees out the terms of his contract.
"Chelsea has made its position very clear to Internazionale and they have come back now with a financial offer. That will be rejected.
"Contrary to what you may have read it is totally untrue that (manager Luiz) Felipe (Scolari) was pushing the club or putting pressure on us to change the offer to Frank.
"At no stage was he ever in conflict with the club's position or asked the board or the owner to change the offer."
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Inter Milan go the extra mile to satisfy Frank Lampard
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Lampard set to threaten Chelsea with walk-out
Frank Lampard is considering walking out of Chelsea and signing for Internazionale after receiving legal advice that, despite their threats, it would be impossible for the club to hold him to the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge. It would then be up to Chelsea to try to recoup compensation for him from football's world governing body, Fifa.
In what has turned into a bitter dispute over his future, Lampard's lawyers have investigated whether he should invoke the so-called "Webster Clause" – Article 17 of Fifa's rules – which effectively allows certain players to unilaterally terminate their contract with their present club.
Lampard's stance shows just how far apart he is now from Chelsea. The 30-year-old was shocked at being told that they are not prepared to enter into any further negotiations over his future. Chelsea say that Lampard can either sign the four-year deal he has been offered or run down his present contract. They are not willing to offer him the five years he wants.
Yesterday, the Chelsea chief executive, Peter Kenyon, insisted that Lampard would be forced to see out the final year of his contract if he did not sign the new deal. "We'd like to hope we can reach an agreement but if we can't we have always worked on the basis that he sees out the terms of his contract," Kenyon said. "The situation is ongoing. We have always maintained that we want Frank to stay and an offer was made to that effect. That offer is still on the table. Frank is under contract and he still has one year to run on that.
"Chelsea has made its position very clear to Internazionale and they have come back now with a financial offer. That will be rejected. Contrary to what you may have read it is totally untrue that [manager Luiz] Felipe [Scolari] was pushing the club or putting pressure on us to change the offer to Frank."
Chelsea yesterday formally rejected the £8m bid from Inter that was submitted on Sunday. The club initially claimed there had been no offer and although the Italians indicated that they are prepared to offer more to land their main transfer target once they have signed Roma's Mancini, Kenyon reiterated that he was not for sale.
That presents Lampard with three options. He can either sign the deal on offer from Chelsea – which he has now insisted he has no intention of doing – he can wait until January and sign a pre-contract agreement with Inter – which at present appears the most likely option – or he can go down the Webster route.
There is no suggestion that he is set to do the latter just yet, but it is significant that he and his advisers have investigated the possibility and feel it is a viable alternative. They certainly feel he cannot be kept at Chelsea if he does not want to stay and claim that there is no need to submit a transfer request.
The case they are citing is that of Andy Webster, the Scotland defender, who walked out on Hearts for Wigan Athletic with a year remaining on his contract in August 2006. The case centred on Article 17, which was established two years ago as a bargaining tool between Fifa and the European Union to try to bring the rights of footballers into line with other EU workers.
Under the rule, any footballer aged between 23 and 28 is entitled to walk away from a club, so long as he has served three years of a four or five-year contract. But, more controversially, any player aged 28 or over can also now terminate his contract so long as he has served two years of its duration.
Initially Webster was ordered to pay £625,000 in compensation to Hearts, who had originally demanded £4m, which was roughly three times the value of the wages left on his contract. It meant that Lampard could have faced a bill of £12m. But in January Webster's payment was reduced by the Court of Arbitration in Sport to just £150,000 in compensation, which means, on a pro-rata basis, that Chelsea would receive far less for Lampard than is currently being offered by Inter.
Lampard, because he has not submitted a letter serving notice of his intentions within 15 days of the last competitive game of the season, would also face the possibility of "sporting sanctions". But his advisers believe that this would just be a ban from playing football for a small number of days.
Lampard's legal team think that Article 17 is intended to protect players precisely in his situation – when he wants to be allowed to leave but is being held to a contract. Lampard is also angry that he and his agent Steve Kutner have spent two years trying to sort out his future at Chelsea.
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More on the Lampard saga ...
Jose - Lamps is the best pro
Inter boss full of praise for Chelsea midfielder's professionalism
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho says Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is 'the best professional' he has ever worked with.
Mourinho is keen to take the 30-year-old to his new club, with Inter having already seen an £8million offer for Lampard rejected.
Chelsea have been negotiating a new contract with the England international, but have been unable to reach an agreement.
Chief executive Peter Kenyon expects Lampard to see out the final year of his contract, if the two parties do not settle on a compromise.
Former Blues boss Mourinho is full of admiration for Lampard and praised the player's willingness to put in extra time on the training ground.
"(He's) the best professional I've ever worked with," said Mourinho.
"He's the player that trains better, more concentration, more commitment, always focused on himself.
"He's never happy about his performance, always wants to improve, always wants to learn.
"If he does some skill in a game where he misses it the next day in training he wants to stay one more hour doing the practice of exactly that, of that situation.
"I remember he lost a goal once in a difficult volley with the left foot. The next day in training he was the one after the training session practising that volley with the left foot.
"Incredibly professional."
Mourinho was speaking as part of Ford's Feel Football.com debate programme.