15.3.07
Lampard sets deadline in contract talks with Chelsea
Chelsea’s hopes of securing Frank Lampard and John Terry on long-term contracts suffered a double blow yesterday as details emerged of the extent of both players’ frustration with the club’s negotiating tactics.
Lampard has given Chelsea a deadline of the end of the month to agree a new deal or he will buy out the two years left on his contract at a cost of £8 million.
Fifa rules enable him to do so and leave on a free transfer in the summer. The stand-in captain, 28, is threatening to do just that and with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan all having expressed interest he would have no shortage of suitors.
Terry is understood to have been deeply upset by the club’s handling of his proposed extension, and talks with the England captain broke down last week.
Lampard’s preference is to stay at Stamford Bridge, but he has decided that if he does not receive an acceptable offer by the end of March he will examine other options, as he does not want to be distracted by negotiations when the season reaches its climax.
The England midfield player is seeking a five-year contract that would give him parity with Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, who are paid £130,000 a week, and is concerned that time is running out as Peter Kenyon, the club’s chief executive, has not contacted Lampard’s agent for more than three weeks.
Under article 17 of Fifa’s transfer regulations, players over the age of 28 can buy themselves out of their contract after a three-year “protected period” has expired, which becomes relevant to Lampard this summer as he signed his last deal in July 2004.
In order to activate the clause to leave in the summer, he must give Chelsea formal notice within 15 days of their last match of the season, meaning time is of the essence for Lampard to make a potentially career-defining decision.
While Lampard is interested in playing abroad, Terry has no wish to leave Chelsea, though that should not disguise the extent of his anger over what he perceives to be a contract snub. The present stand-off was exacerbated by a snatched conversation with Kenyon in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge before Sunday’s FA Cup sixth-round tie against Tottenham Hotspur, which Terry interpreted as an attempt by the chief executive to pressure him into signing.
Terry entered the initial negotiations by saying that he wanted to stay at Chelsea for the rest of his career and was encouraged when the club proposed a five-year extension with a clause for a further four years, though that offer was removed at a meeting last Wednesday.
The England captain, 26, has been further unsettled by Chelsea’s refusal to put him in the same pay bracket as Ballack and Shevchenko, and was particularly offended by the comment from one senior official that their offer would make him “very well paid for a centre half”. Terry was distressed at being described in such dismissive terms.
With no further talks planned, the rift is in danger of widening if it is not addressed as a matter of urgency, though that will not undermine his efforts for the rest of the season. Terry is expected to return from concussion in tomorrow’s Barclays Premiership match away to Manchester City, while Chelsea had another piece of good news to celebrate yesterday as Michael Essien signed a new five-year contract.
The above are extracted from TimesOnline... I hope he stays at Stamford Bridge, has been there for so many years liao...
It is such a beautiful place...
And so many people love him
If he decided to leave, think it's a painful decision...
But whatever is his decision, I still LOVES HIM LOTSSsSsss... Cos he is my favourite soccer player... LoL... Okok, somemore he's handsome!!!
¶ 15.3.07 Lampard has given Chelsea a deadline of the end of the month to agree a new deal or he will buy out the two years left on his contract at a cost of £8 million.
Fifa rules enable him to do so and leave on a free transfer in the summer. The stand-in captain, 28, is threatening to do just that and with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan all having expressed interest he would have no shortage of suitors.
Terry is understood to have been deeply upset by the club’s handling of his proposed extension, and talks with the England captain broke down last week.
Lampard’s preference is to stay at Stamford Bridge, but he has decided that if he does not receive an acceptable offer by the end of March he will examine other options, as he does not want to be distracted by negotiations when the season reaches its climax.
The England midfield player is seeking a five-year contract that would give him parity with Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, who are paid £130,000 a week, and is concerned that time is running out as Peter Kenyon, the club’s chief executive, has not contacted Lampard’s agent for more than three weeks.
Under article 17 of Fifa’s transfer regulations, players over the age of 28 can buy themselves out of their contract after a three-year “protected period” has expired, which becomes relevant to Lampard this summer as he signed his last deal in July 2004.
In order to activate the clause to leave in the summer, he must give Chelsea formal notice within 15 days of their last match of the season, meaning time is of the essence for Lampard to make a potentially career-defining decision.
While Lampard is interested in playing abroad, Terry has no wish to leave Chelsea, though that should not disguise the extent of his anger over what he perceives to be a contract snub. The present stand-off was exacerbated by a snatched conversation with Kenyon in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge before Sunday’s FA Cup sixth-round tie against Tottenham Hotspur, which Terry interpreted as an attempt by the chief executive to pressure him into signing.
Terry entered the initial negotiations by saying that he wanted to stay at Chelsea for the rest of his career and was encouraged when the club proposed a five-year extension with a clause for a further four years, though that offer was removed at a meeting last Wednesday.
The England captain, 26, has been further unsettled by Chelsea’s refusal to put him in the same pay bracket as Ballack and Shevchenko, and was particularly offended by the comment from one senior official that their offer would make him “very well paid for a centre half”. Terry was distressed at being described in such dismissive terms.
With no further talks planned, the rift is in danger of widening if it is not addressed as a matter of urgency, though that will not undermine his efforts for the rest of the season. Terry is expected to return from concussion in tomorrow’s Barclays Premiership match away to Manchester City, while Chelsea had another piece of good news to celebrate yesterday as Michael Essien signed a new five-year contract.
The above are extracted from TimesOnline... I hope he stays at Stamford Bridge, has been there for so many years liao...
It is such a beautiful place...And so many people love him
If he decided to leave, think it's a painful decision...
But whatever is his decision, I still LOVES HIM LOTSSsSsss... Cos he is my favourite soccer player... LoL... Okok, somemore he's handsome!!!
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