LONDON: Frank Lampard yesterday expressed his gratitude to Manchester City after joining the Premier League champions from new club New York City on a short-term loan deal.
Lampard, 36, signed for New York City last month and will play with their sister club Manchester City until January in order to maintain his fitness prior to the start of the 2015 Major League Soccer season in March.
“Joining up with Manchester City is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to train and play at the top level and make sure I am in top condition for New York City,” the England midfielder told the City website.
“It has been an amazing few days for me since the unveiling in Brooklyn and everyone connected with both clubs has been fantastic to me. This is a new chapter of my career and I’m really excited about the experience.
“I met Manuel (Pellegrini, the City manager) and some of the players in New York and I’m looking forward to getting into training and making a contribution for Manchester City ahead of my move over to New York.”
Lampard was due to train with City for the first time on Wednesday and Pellegrini said he was excited about working with the former Chelsea midfielder, who will wear the number 18 shirt.
“Frank is a world-class midfielder and this is an opportunity which works perfectly for everyone: the player, Manchester City, and New York City,” said the Chilean.
“I’m looking forward to working with him and integrating him into our squad. New York have made a fantastic signing by recruiting Frank, and I’m really pleased that we’ll be able to have him with us for the first half of our season and help prepare him for his new challenge.”
New York City sporting director Claudio Reyna said: “This is the perfect opportunity for Frank.
“He is in great shape following the World Cup, and training and playing with our colleagues in Manchester will enable Frank to be fit and ready for our inaugural training camp.”
Meanwhile, England’s leading referee Howard Webb announced yesterday that he was retiring to become the technical director of the organisation that oversees professional officials in English football.
The 43-year-old from the northern English town of Rotherham was a referee for 25 years and took charge of the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands in Johannesburg.
The Premier League revealed that he will now take over as technical director of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), which provides officials for games in the English top flight.
“I am very excited to start this new chapter in my career after a wonderfully rewarding 25 years on the pitch,” Webb said in a statement.
“I have spent over a decade with the best seat in the house for Barclays Premier League matches, been lucky enough to be involved in nine major international tournaments, and taken charge of the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup finals.
“Refereeing has given me so much and I think it’s important that match officials who have had the rewards remain in the game to pass on their knowledge.”
The highlight of Webb’s career arrived in 2010 when he became the first person to referee the Champions League final and the World Cup final in the same year.
He also took charge of matches at this year’s World Cup in Brazil, as well as the European Championship in 2008 and 2012.
The Premier League said Webb’s new position would include a “public-facing role informing and educating on refereeing matters”. Agencies
