Chelsea Football Club News

• Nickname:Blues
• Founded:1905
• Manager:Roberto Di Matteo

• Ground:Stamford Bridge
• Capacity:42,440

Lampard: I almost left Blues

31 Jan 2009 - 11:40:15

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Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has admitted that he almost left the club last summer.

The England international was linked with a transfer to Internazionale where he would have been reunited with former Blues boss Jose Mourinho, only to eventually decide to remain in London.

Lampard has revealed he was unsure what to do following the death of his mother Pat, saying: "Last season, I was in a daze. I couldn't think of anything else and, strangely, that makes it easier to play because you have a one track mind, no highs and lows.

"At one time last summer I was looking to move. I just couldn't accept the idea of playing at Chelsea without looking up and seeing Mum in the stand. Even now it is a huge gap in my life and very hard to handle.

"There were a lot of things that we used to do together, go to Harrods for tea, go to a certain restaurant, so suddenly there were shops I couldn't walk into, all sorts of things from which I needed to get away.

"I thought: "I can't live like this; I've got to leave London. That wasn't the answer, though.

"No disrespect to Inter Milan, they are a great club and everybody knows what I think of Jose Mourinho, but if I had gone it would have been for the wrong reasons. It would have been because of Mum."