
Frank
Lampard has revealed Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho would "love" him to
return to the club once his playing career is over.
Lampard spent 13 years at Chelsea and is the club’s record goalscorer with
211 goals, but he left Stamford Bridge in the summer and subsequently joined
Manchester City.
Mourinho has said he does not regret allowing Lampard to leave even though
the midfielder scored a crucial equaliser in the Premier League fixture
between the two sides earlier this season.
However, speaking exclusively to Soccer AM, Lampard admitted that the door
for a return to Chelsea in the future does remain open.
“Jose Mourinho and the club from the top have said they’ll love for me to be
involved, whenever I want to go back,” he said.
“Chelsea is like going back home and it feels such a big part of me. When
you are part of Chelsea, I’ve seen it with people like ‘Chopper’ Harris and
Peter Bonetti, they’re still there to this day. It’s a club that really
looks after its players. If the opportunity was there to go back, I would
love to, as I had such a long career there. It’s a part of me – and that
never changes.”
The former Chelsea midfielder will be back at Stamford Bridge for the first
time on Saturday following his summer move to the Premier League champions
via New York City.
His return adds extra spice to a heavyweight fixture that could go a long
way to deciding the Premier League title and Lampard admits it will be great
to see some familiar faces.
“It’s going be really emotional,” he said.
“It feels like coming home for me. London will always be my home,
particularly the west London and Chelsea area. This game was always on the
horizon for me and this week I’ve started getting texts and calls from
people behind the scenes from friends and fans.
“I can’t wait to see those people at Chelsea. Everyone knows the rapport I
had with the fans there, and I still do, but people like Alan Barrett, who
works at the training ground, Frank Stier, Teresa, who works in the press
room at Chelsea; these are people I didn’t get a real chance to say goodbye
to.
"Thirteen years together you make a lot of friends and create bonds with
people. I’ll look forward to that, but most of all stepping on that pitch
and being in that stadium, which was my home for so long.”