LAMPARD FEARS BACKLASH FROM BLUES FANS
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Abramovich Fed Up With Lampard
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly sick and tired of midfielder Frank Lampard, according to the Daily Star.
The Chelsea midfielder’s future remains in doubt with Lampard refusing to accept Chelsea’s offer of a new four year contract and the club seemingly reluctant to sell him.
According to the paper a source closer to the Russian billionaire has revealed Abramovich’s views on the subject by claiming: “Roman is fed up with Lampard.”
Lampard has been at the club since 2001 but has only one year remaining on his contract and is reportedly unhappy with the new deal he is being offered.
The Abramovich source, however, reveals that the Chelsea owner is surprised that Lampard hasn’t already signed the deal currently on offer at Chelsea. The source claims: “He felt it was an excellent deal for a player who is already 30. He cannot understand why he won’t accept it.”
The news is likely to increase speculation that Lampard will finally leave the club this summer. Inter Milan’s interest in the midfielder is well documented and the Italian side have already had one bid turned down by Chelsea. -
Big Phil: Lamps can go
PHIL SCOLARI promised Frank Lampard he would HELP him make a dream move to Inter Milan. Chelsea’s new boss spoke to the England ace days BEFORE taking over.
Scolari told Lamps: “If you’re unsettled here, then I’ll try to help you.” But Big Phil appeared to back out of his promise in his first Press conference as Blues boss on Wednesday. He then claimed the midfielder would be staying at the club for years to come.
Those comments enraged the Lampard camp, already furious at Chelsea’s refusal to give their man a new five-year deal. In a phone converstaion with Scolari, Lampard said he was upset at not being given a deal to keep him at Chelsea for the rest of his career.
A Portuguese source revealed: “Mr Scolari agreed that there was no point hanging on to a player who didn’t feel good about his deal. "The last thing Mr Scolari wants is a player who is not 100 per cent content.”
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_!_ roman
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Actually Lampard should just sign lah... 30 yrs old, $140,000 a week, 4 yrs deal... very good already actually... He won't get this at Arsenal, United and Pool for sure no matter how good he is... Even Giggs who has won 10 premiership titles for United don't get $100,000 per week let alone a 4 yrs contract...
Lampard's deal is already very good... Even Inter is offering $120,000 per week only.
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for once i seconded your tots.. Lampard would seriously be a dumb not be sign this new 4years $140k deal, he might be able to get more sign on fee if he is to hold on to next year on a free transfer but whether he is able to get a 3-4 years contract is left to be seen but in Lampard i would probably think he is more keen on playing and being well appricated by the fans and the board..
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ya i agree with roman.
its really a good deal
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well this goes to show that lampard is not blinded by greed. clearly money is not the issue here.
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He heypi can liao lah....hais
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Originally posted by burg:
well this goes to show that lampard is not blinded by greed. clearly money is not the issue here.
What ? He wants $150,000 and a 5 yrs deal from Chelsea leh... $10,000 lesser also cannot... -
£16MILLION TO KEEP LAMPS
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH is ready to blow an amazing £16million on a point of principle.
That’s how much it will cost the Russian billionaire to force Frank Lampard to see out the final year of his Chelsea contract. First, the Blues will miss out on the reported £10m fee Jose Mourinho is prepared to hand over to take his favourite player to Inter Milan.
Then comes the England midfield ace’s £6.1m wages for the next year. And all to keep a wantaway star who is desperate to quit the club he once loved. Now, obviously Chelsea’s mega-rich owner can easily afford to take the hit — even in the midst of the current global economic meltdown. But Abramovich actually believes it is worth every penny to prove a point.
Honour
A Chelsea insider explained: “Roman won’t budge on this one. Why should he? It’s a matter of principle. “Frank Lampard is one of our best players and we want him to stay. “We have made him a very, very good offer to keep him at Chelsea and even now we still hope he will see sense and agree to it. “But whether he does or he doesn’t he will not be going anywhere this season.
“Yes, Inter Milan want him and have made a bid. “But can someone explain why we have to sell arguably our best player when we don’t have to? “The situation is crystal clear. “Frank Lampard has a contract with Chelsea for another year.
“We will certainly honour that contract in full and we are expecting Frank Lampard to do likewise. “If Frank wants to leave after that then that’s his decision and he will go with our blessing and our thanks for eight marvellous years. “And that’s it — end of story.”
But is it really as cut and dried as that? Has anyone at Stamford Bridge considered the hidden and unquantifiable cost of keeping a player against his wishes and the damaging effect that could have on new boss Luiz Felipe Scolari’s squad?
The answer is yes.
Barrier
I understand there are key figures at the club who believe selling 30-year-old Lampard now makes best business sense. They point to his age, his run of injuries last term and argue that £16m could be better spent elsewhere. But Chelsea has not been run as a business since Abramovich took charge in July, 2003 — and probably never will be.
But it’s not just about money. Fears that Lampard’s commitment to the Chelsea cause could be adversely affected have been aired in certain quarters, regardless of the England star’s previous heroics for the Londoners.
One told me: “In the past Frank would go through the pain barrier to be out there for Chelsea but will he still put body and soul on the line after all of this?
“Personally I think he would, because he is such a consummate professional — but there would inevitably be a question mark in some people’s minds and that can’t be healthy.”
And all this before a ball has even been kicked in the new season. Surely the festering fallout from this bitter break-up will only become worse once the campaign is underway. Certainly the Lampard camp remain as entrenched as Abramovich.
Fabulous
The man himself is trying to maintain a dignified silence but one of Lampard’s closest friends spoke out to ridicule Abramovich’s tough-guy stance. He scoffed: “I suppose Abramovich thinks he is playing hardball but who does he think he is kidding?
“Look at the facts. Frank will earn more than £6m at Chelsea in the next season whether he’s playing or not — that’s some hardship! “He’ll still be living in a fabulous house in Knightsbridge and he’ll still be driving around in his Ferrari. “And then he’ll sign for Inter in January and be playing for them in a year’s time anyway.
“Mourinho’s already said as much so Frank has nothing to lose. “But Chelsea will lose out because they are kissing away a fortune by keeping him. “Now that doesn’t sound like good business to me.
“But when have Chelsea and Abramovich worried about running a good business? “When they spent millions and millions to sign Sebastien Veron, Hernan Crespo and Andrei Shevchenko?
“What did that lot do for Chelsea compared to Frank? “Yet the club bends over backwards to look after the flops and treats a hero like Frank like this. It doesn’t make sense.” Intriguingly the end of Lampard’s seven-year love affair with Chelsea came on the day new boss Scolari was unveiled by the Blues.
That morning Abramovich refused to improve the club’s 'final offer' of a £140,000-a-week, four-year deal. Lampard viewed the timing of Abramovich’s move as a significant signal. The marauding midfielder realised his hopes of ending his career at the Bridge were left in tatters.
He had wanted a five-year deal similar to the one 27-year-old skipper John Terry had signed last season. But Abramovich baulked at such a deal for a player who has just hit 30, despite his amazing feats for the club. And that signalled the end for Lampard, who had been waiting for a new deal for two years.
His pal explained: “Even if Chelsea eventually crumble and come up with a new five-year deal I’m sure Frank will tell them where to stick it — the damage has been done.” Inter president Massimo Moratti is still hopeful of landing Lamps — but admits the Nerazzurri have done all they can.
Moratti said: “We have made our offer to Chelsea. He is an element we like — but more than this we cannot do.”
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Inter ready to offer Chelsea Adriano in bid to land Lampard
Frank Lampard's future remains uncertain after sources in Italy claimed Internazionale are preparing to offer Chelsea a part-exchange deal of £15m plus the Brazil striker Adriano.
Luiz Felipe Scolari last week stated his intention to keep Lampard at Stamford Bridge after the club rejected a bid from Inter worth £7.95m. But a source close to the new Chelsea manager says he is concerned that the situation has now become irretrievable, with Lampard continuing to refuse a new four-year contract reported to be worth £140,000 a week. Last week, Inter director Gabriele Oriali said: 'What is certain is the player wants strongly to come to Inter.'
The proposed new offer of a higher fee plus Adriano, is understood to be attractive to Scolari, who wants a quick resolution. 'Scolari wanted to build a midfield with Lampard alongside Deco and doesn't see any problem having both players in his ideal starting XI,' one Italian insider said. 'But he believes other people with interests in the transfer taking place are continuing to talk.'
The part-exchange deal, which would reunite Lampard with José Mourinho at the San Siro, is believed to appeal to Scolari after Real Madrid refused to negotiate over his preferred Brazilian striker, Robinho. Adriano is not part of the former Chelsea manager's plans despite the striker regaining his form last season during a six-month loan spell at São Paulo, where he scored 17 goals in 28 matches.
'Mourinho and Adriano have met and talked, but I can't say how this meeting went,' the striker's agent, Gilmar Rinaldi, told Observer Sport. 'The player is flying back from Rio de Janeiro to Milan next week, as the pre-season starts on Wednesday. I will neither confirm nor deny that he will be exchanged for Lampard.'
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LAMPARD FEARS BACKLASH FROM BLUES FANS
FRANK LAMPARD fears he will be the target of Chelsea boo-boys if the club force him to stay at Stamford Bridge this season.
The Daily Express revealed exclusively on Saturday that Lampard, 30, plans to sign a pre-contract agreement with Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan in January after Chelsea turned down the Italian champions’ latest transfer moves for him.
Roman Abramovich has spurned attempts by Inter president Massimo Moratti to strike a deal for Lampard and the club are now insisting that unless he signs the new deal they have offered, he must see out the remaining year of his contract.
Lampard fears a backlash from Chelsea fans angry at his refusal to sign the £140,000-a-week, four-year deal the club have put on the table.
A source close to the player said: “Frank has had seven wonderful years at the club and does not want to sour relations with Chelsea fans.
“But he fears if he is forced to remain at the club he is going to be given a hard time by some supporters because of the breakdown in talks. What Chelsea fans have to understand, is the club has refused to offer him the five-year deal he wants, and he has always said that if he could not finish his playing career at Chelsea he would like to try his luck abroad.
Abramovich is determined not to sell to Mourinho and though the club are bracing themselves for a second firm offer, even if that arrives this week it is likely to be snubbed such is his current mood.
Inter are considering a deal involving Brazilian striker Adriano, but that is unlikely to prove an attractive move for new Blues boss Luiz Felipe Scolari. Unless something happens in the next few days Lampard plans to sign a pre-contract agreement with Inter in January and join them for nothing in June when his contract runs out. He will sign a four-year deal of £115,000 a week after tax.
Real Madrid’s Robinho, who is a target for Scolari, and whose agent has been in London for talks with the club this week, distanced himself from a move to the Premier League yesterday, while Serie A club Sampdoria have entered the chase to lure away Chelsea misfit striker Andriy Shevchenko.
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it seem chelsea are losing more players than it signed!
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Living up to his farking name .Mr Tua Lampa.
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Originally posted by reyes:
it seem chelsea are losing more players than it signed!
Its probably because they have a big squad and Scolari only need 23 - 25 players in the team at most... So sell away those hardly playing ones like Sidwell, Ben Hiam, Swp, Makelele... -
what backlash?
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Originally posted by Short Ninja:
Living up to his farking name .Mr Tua Lampa.
_!_ U -
Lampard To Demand Inter Sale Within 48 Hours
According to the Corriere della Sera, Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will demand within the next 48 hours that he be allowed to join Inter Milan.
Lampard’s proposed move to Inter has become something of a soap opera this summer. The Nerazzurri have had an initial €10m bid for the England international rejected, and although the 30-year-old appears to want to move to San Siro, Chelsea, and in particular owner Roman Abramovich, have no intention of selling him.
Reports in the English press over the weekend suggested that Lampard would see out the final year of his Chelsea contract before signing for Inter on a Bosman transfer in the summer of 2009.
However, the Corriere della Sera is now claiming that Lampard, who has so far remained quiet on the matter, will openly declare his intentions to join Inter immediately within the next 48 hours.
It is also claimed that Abramovich may be persuaded to do business with Inter, provided troubled Brazilian striker Adriano is included in some form of player exchange deal.
‘The Emperor’ has had a miserable two years on-and-off the pitch, and has spent the last six months on loan at Sao Paulo. Having since rediscovered some of his best form, and returned to Inter, his future with the Italians is still uncertain given the presence of a whole host of top class strikers such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cruz and Mario Balotelli.
If the Nerazzurri fail to lure Lampard to San Siro, they will instead focus their attentions back on Porto’s Ricardo Quaresma.