Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard officially joins New York City FC
Frank Lampard was officially unveiled as a New York City FC player earlier today. Chelsea’s all time top goal scorer, had confirmed his transfer from Chelsea last month and would join David Villa, the former Spain striker at the MLS club.
Lampard had earlier maintained that he wouldn’t be playing for another Premier League team after leaving Chelsea. The Englishman spent 13 years with the West Londoners where he won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, the Europa League and the Champions League.
Quotes from the press conference
He said, "It is a very exciting challenge for me in life terms. I had a fantastic 13 years with Chelsea that I can look back with pride upon. Having seen the vision here, seeing a real long-term plan, I wanted to be part of that. I want to carry on challenging myself and be a leader not only on the pitch,"
The midfielder’s England future is still up in the air, as he has not made a decision on whether to retire from international football or not.
“He is a professional, a leader and he ticked all the boxes in terms of the qualities to help grow our team," said New York sporting director Claudio Reyna.
New York City are co-owned by England's Manchester City and Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. They will play their matches at the Yankee Stadium when the 2015 MLS season starts in February.