Chelsea
boss Jose Mourinho told
Goals on Sunday that Frank Lampard's
decision to join Manchester City came as a surprise.
The veteran midfielder, now 36, signed for New York City FC at the end of
his Chelsea contract last summer but was then snapped up by the MLS side's
parent club - Premier League rivals City - on a season-long loan deal.
Mourinho told Goals on Sunday of the decision not to offer Lampard, who is
Chelsea's all-time record goalscorer, a new deal: "We let him go for
different reasons.
"First of all, I think the motivation Frank has to have this role at City
wouldn't be the same motivation he has to have the same role at Chelsea.
"Secondly, we open the door for him to choose his future and we thought he'd
go to the States and would come back after a couple of years to do what he
wants.
"He could have come back as first-team coach, a scout, a director of
football. Anything he wanted. We would have found a new department for him!
What he did for Chelsea for more than one decade was something amazing.
"We were surprised by his decision to join Manchester but I would never
criticise his option."
Lampard scored 211 goals in his time at Stamford Bridge, which ran from 2001
to 2014, and Mourinho admitted he is one of the best players he has ever
managed.
"Yes, of course," Mourinho added.
"A midfielder player doesn’t score so many goals. It’s as simple as that and
I think his career was based on an unbelievable number of goals he scored
from midfield. That made him a unique player because I had so many good
midfield players but a player to score this number of goals is amazing.”
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