EPL, Premiership, English Premier League

“I see it as my final big contract and I will play out my days at Chelsea. I want to finish my career at Chelsea.”

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has signed a new contract with Chelsea which will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2014. Lampard is currently 30 which means he will probably be with Chelsea until his retirement in about 6 years. His contract with Chelsea would have ended and to raise tensions Inter Milan have been attempting to obtain Lampard; this makes sense since Jose Mourinho (previously managed Chelsea and shared several seasons with Lampard) is now managing Inter Milan. Lampard has been playing with Chelsea for 6 seasons, he transferred from West Ham in 2001 for €11 million. He has scored 71 goals for Chelsea out of 247 appearances.

“It is something I’ve said many times and, after signing this contract, I am very happy and positive I will finish as a player here. I’ve had seven great seasons here and now I can have many more.I t’s been a difficult summer for many reasons and that was one of them. A lot of things were said that were untrue, some things were said that were slightly true… and that was frustrating. Now we can put that to bed and concentrate on football.”

“Everyone knows [Inter] Milan made a bid for me and that was something I had to look at. That was a possibility when we knew they had made an offer for me, I had to make a decision for myself and this club has been very, very good to me. I don’t see any squads as strong as us. I feel very excited to be part of the future and now hopefully we can win back some titles.”

“My world got turned upside down and I don’t think it is anything anyone appreciates until you go through it. The club gave me time and I appreciate that. I feel for sure I’ve made 100% the right decision, for myself, for my family and for Chelsea Football Club. It has taken a while to get the deal done and there has been a bit of compromise on both sides.”

When Scolari joined Chelsea he immediately made it apparent that he wanted Lampard to stay as he considered him an integral part of Chelsea.

“He is a key player for me and vital to Chelsea’s future successes. Frank is one of the best professionals I have worked with. Every day he tries to learn something and bring new elements to his game.”