Jose
Mourinho is adamant that Chelsea were correct to let midfielder Frank
Lampard leave Stamford Bridge.
The former England regular is a Chelsea legend and the club’s all-time
leading goalscorer, but departed last summer to join Major League Soccer
side New York City.
Lampard was subsequently loaned to New York’s sister club Manchester City
and the 36-year-old has proved he remains a very effective Premier League
performer with six goals this season, including the winner at Leicester on
Saturday.
However, Mourinho says keeping Lampard might have stalled the progress of
younger players and that circumstances are different with regard to Blues
veterans such as John Terry and Didier Drogba.
Asked if he regretted the loss of Lampard, Mourinho said: “It's his life,
nothing to do with us.
“He left Chelsea as a free agent and chooses his life, we can't complain
about it. That's football.
"My view is that, when you want to look forward, look to the future, and
have people like (Cesc) Fabregas and (Nemanja) Matic and Jeremie Boga (a U21
midfielder), which are the next 10 years of the club.
"The project is to prepare for the next 10 years, not for the next year. We
made the right decision.
"You can argue 'You have John Terry and Didier Drogba'. Different.
“Drogba is a striker that is coming to help and support the team. John Terry
is the best central defender in English football and it doesn't matter how
old he is.
"The nucleus of the team has to be developed and to have a big player like
Frank we would stop the development of the other guys."
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