Chelsea legend describes City loan a ‘stopover period’.
Former Chelsea star Frank Lampard has given a lengthy interview to the Times to explain his situation at Manchester City after some recent confusion surrounding the nature of his loan deal from MLS side New York City.
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The 36-year-old was a surprise signing by the Premier League champions, who pounced to bring him in on a short-term loan from New York after he’d only recently quit Chelsea after a long and memorable career at Stamford Bridge, where he’d earned legendary status as one of the Blues’ best-ever players.
There is a growing feeling that Lampard risks his reputation with the Chelsea supporters after spending this season with their rivals City, but the player himself insists he still has strong feelings for his old club, whilst describing his current loan deal at the Etihad Stadium as a stop-gap move, which may see him risk the wrath of the City fans.
“Would it make me feel any different about Chelsea? Certainly not,” he said. “Would it make Chelsea fans feel like I had let them down? I hoped it wouldn’t. Speaking to people — fans I know, fans I bump into my when I’m out and about, ex-team-mates, staff — I don’t believe it does.
“You will always potentially get some people who feel different because it’s a passion, it’s a religion, and I get that, but I will always be a Chelsea man. This is more of a stopover period.
“I’m not belittling Man City by saying that, because it’s a huge club and they’ve been amazing to me. I was 36 and Man City wanted me to go there and play for them for a period.
“No matter that it was as a squad player or that it suited them or whatever — and looking back, you can probably look at it better — at the time I thought, ‘Wow, I didn’t see that one coming.’ And I really didn’t. It surprised me from the first minute they showed interest to sitting here now — that it happened at all and that I’ve been able to make a fairly good impact.”