Sunday 17 May 2015 21:45, UK
Frank Lampard says he is “done” with the Premier League as time in the top flight of English football draws to a close.
Lampard will join New York City FC at the end of his loan spell with Manchester City, closing the curtain on a 20-year career in English football that saw him win three Premier League titles and the Champions League, as well as break the Chelsea all-time goalscoring record.
“I’ve been very fortunate to play for such a long time in this league with some great players and managers and against some great opponents,” Lampard, speaking exclusively to Sky Sports' Patrick Davison ahead of the Super Sunday clash between Swansea and Manchester City, said.
“But it’s certainly time for me to move on. It’s time for me to look back and be that old bloke who says ‘I used to play there’. I’m very ready for that.
“Nothing could persuade me more than the idea of Christmas with the family where I can have a bit more turkey and stay up a bit later with the family. That’s me done.”
Despite a career stretching two decades, Lampard only played for four clubs: West Ham, Chelsea, City and Swansea, where he spent eight games on loan as a teenager.
Lampard believes that short spell in south Wales as a 17-year-old was a crucial experience - of a relegation scrap as well as the "ruthless world" of the dressing room.
“It was Harry Redknapp who sent me on loan to Swansea,” Lampard said.
“When he said it I thought: ‘Do I need to go on loan to Swansea?’ I had only just passed my driving test and it was a good four hours. I was in my comfort zone at West Ham as a kid.
“My mum used to be my cooking and washing for me and then I went to Swansea and I was amongst grown men. It was a man’s dressing room and I was a boy. They used to dig me out for my puppy fat. It’s a ruthless world, the football dressing room at times.
“It was then I realised the game wasn’t all beautiful. There were some difficult parts to it, especially fighting at the bottom of the old division two. It really opened my eyes.”
Hit the video link to watch Frank Lampard speak exclusively to Sky Sports.
