Frank Lampard insists his surprising decision to sign for Manchester
City after he ended his long spell at Chelsea last summer has not caused
lasting damage to his legacy with the Stamford Bridge club.
Some Chelsea fans were disappointed by Lampard's move to join title
rivals City for a season after he initially decided to join MLS side New
York City, yet the 36-year-old midfielder is not concerned that his
spell in Manchester will have tarnished his status as a Blues legend.
"I had 13 years at Chelsea and I will always be a Chelsea boy because
I played there and have so many memories," Lampard said on an
appearance on a Channel 4 chat show to be broadcast on Friday.
"They decided I was moving on and at 35 you are not going to fight
that. If they want you to move on you move on. Then Manchester City came
in for me. it was too good to turn down.
"At 36, not many people get asked to play for the champions of
England at the time for five months. I have got such a great
relationship with the Chelsea fans. It hasn't broken it.
"I still have my main house in Chelsea and I go back to London a lot, I hope I won't ever lose that, I don't think I will."
Lampard also confirmed he is still a huge admirer of Chelsea manager
Jose Mourinho, even though the Portuguese tactician was believed to be
part of the decision making process that saw the midfielder's 13-year
stay at Stamford Bridge end last summer.
"He is brilliant. If you wanted to bottle a manager and get all the good bits in it, he has got them," Lampard said.
"I say that because he helped me in my career a huge amount. When he
came I didn't have that self-confidence, I was 25, and he brought that
out of me. And he does that with all the players he works with.
"He is very good at gauging a player and he knows if you need a
[lecture] he will give it to you individually or as a team on a day but
if you need a little bit of love and niceness he does that as well."
