Ex-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard does not hold any grudge towards Chelsea or Roman Abramovich for his sacking.
In January of this year, the former Chelsea midfielder was sacked amid a poor run of results that saw the club’s chances of finishing within the top four put in jeopardy.
Discussing the matter of his sacking with Jamie Redknapp, the Chelsea legend revealed that there was no form of animosity between him and the Chelsea owner, who has a reputation of easily wielding the sack axe.
Speaking in the interview with Redknapp, Lampard said;
“I could never sit here and say I have anything but appreciation for what he did for my career. I was disappointed because I felt we could change things. I saw games coming up as opportunities to get points.”
“Your pride takes a hit. There is no doubt about it. That’s human. But with reflection, I would have been absolutely naïve to think it would be any different for myself than it had been for managers in the past.”
The Russian owner has never spoken out after sacking a manager before. But after sacking Lampard, he released a statement to say how much ‘respect he had for him and what a difficult decision it was’.
When asked about that, Frank Lampard said, “I loved that.”
“History says Chelsea make changes, and sometimes they have real success off the back of it. It was never for me to go against their model. I have full appreciation to Roman for the opportunity. I can only look forward.”
Lampard’s replacement Thomas Tuchel has so far restored the club’s place in the elite level and is on course to finish within the top four if they win their last league game of the season against Aston Villa on Sunday. The German has also led the club to the Champions League final and the FA Cup final, losing to Leicester last week.
The midfielder became the fifth player to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame on Wednesday, joining the likes of Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Roy Keane, and Eric Cantona in an exclusive list of Premier League greats.