Blues rage as Lampard linked with Inter move
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Tuesday May 20 2008
Chelsea's preparations for the Champions League final were disrupted yesterday by reports from Italy that Frank Lampard would quit the club after the game to take up a four-year contract with Inter Milan.
Confirmation from UEFA that Lubos Michel, the referee who allowed Luis Garcia's infamous "ghost goal" in the semi-final defeat by Liverpool three years ago, will be in charge against Manchester United tomorrow provided a further source of irritation.
Senior officials at Chelsea reacted with surprise and anger that fresh speculation about Lampard (29) had surfaced just 48 hours before the biggest match in the club's history, and chief executive Peter Kenyon placed an immediate call to Roman Abramovich to ensure that no deal had taken place without his knowledge.
Investigation
An investigation has been launched to discover whether an agent is falsely claiming to represent Chelsea in transfer business, so strong was the word from Milan that a transfer was on the verge of completion.
Sources in Milan were happy to provide details of a salary -- approximately £5.8m a year -- and a length of contract for the transfer, yet Chelsea claimed that there had been no contact between the clubs, while Steve Kutner, the player's agent, insisted that no decision would be made on Lampard's future until later in the summer.
"There is no truth in it at all," Kutner said. "I don't know why Inter Milan would think this. Nobody has talked to me and I am good friends with the owner, Massimo Moratti. I took Paul Ince there, I took Patrick Vieira there -- if there was something on I am sure I would know." (© The Times, London)
- Martin Samuel
