Frank Lampard

“I don’t know if I’ll be at Chelsea next season,” Frank Lampard talks about preparing for retirement, future career options and his relationship with Christine Bleakley

Whilst the rumour mill is in full swing regarding whether Frank Lampard will remain at Chelsea for one more year, he admits he doesn’t know if he’ll be playing for The Blues next season. Speaking exclusively he states.

“I don’t know if I’ll be at Chelsea next season. I’d like to carry on for two or three more years, but it would be good to end on a high. So, if that means it all ends tomorrow, I wouldn’t have any regrets. You know your shelf life, so I started to mentally prepare when I hit 30. I’ve been doing this for a long time, so there’s a part of me that’s looking forward to the future.”

I don’t know if I’ll be at Chelsea next season. I’d like to carry on I don’t know if I’ll be at Chelsea next season. I’d like to carry on

He also reveals that the end of his professional football playing days will be emotional:

“Christine would tell you that no matter how long in the tooth I am in football years, if I have a bad game, I’m miserable for a couple of days. I want to be the best I can, and I’m upset with myself when I’m not. I am intrigued to see who I am when I stop experiencing those extreme highs and lows. I feel ready to handle it, because I’ve got other things, like the books.”

Debating some career options he comments:

Football management “I’m always debating it”

Sports punditry “It looks easy, but it’s not”

Some sort of collaboration with Christine – “I don’t think I’d ever be sitting on the sofa with her, Richard and Judy-style, but if I was able to do something sporty with TV, then maybe.”

Discussing his relationship with Christine further, he calls her his best friend and discloses how great a step-mum she is to his two daughters:

“She’s made me content. That sounds soppy, but I’ve been very happy since I’ve been with her. Our personalities are very similar. People say opposites attract, but when you live together, you need to be harmonious, and she’s my best friend. I’ve got a lot of respect for what she says – she’s sharp. I bounce my problems off her, and I’d like to think I help her with her stuff, too.”

“[Christine and the girls] will now gang up on me. For me, that’s great, because going into a relationship, the step-parent role is hard. To get to the point where I see the girls saying, “We’ve got Chris, and we’re doing this,” is brilliant. And it does me a favour, because I had a year of being a single dad and it was tough. Even now, we have our moments – when I’ve come back from work and I’ve lost, and they’ve made a mess in their room, you get frustrated. It’s certainly helped me having Christine and the bond that has grown between her and the girls.”



Being a father to almost teens is something that plays on his mind:

“The huge responsibility is the parenting. You can’t control their lives, but you can guide them. I worry about online – I got parental controls on my iPad the other day. If I see them going down routes I don’t like, I will be strong with them. And I’ve tried to do that from the beginning.

Emotionally, I give them loads and as much time as I can; and at Christmas and birthdays, I do my best – but I don’t want to get carried away, because I don’t want a brat of 13 or 14. I want them to go out and earn their own money and enjoy it. They get £5 a week pocket money, but they have to make their beds, tidy their rooms and show good manners.”

He credits his mother, Pat, who passed away six years ago, for teaching him his most significant life lesson: to rise above it:

“Most of the things I’ve learnt, she taught me. She was a real softening influence, and that shaped me. When I was younger, I would do an interview and say, “I’m upset with this or that,” and I always got a negative reaction from it. Maybe I should have just kept my peace.”

And now?

“I still care a lot about what other people think. But in recent years, I’ve realised it’s impossible to do what I do and keep everyone happy, so now I pick and choose the right people to please. I’ve made mistakes, and probably will do in the future, but now I always tell myself to rise above it. I’m trying to be more carefree.”



TFrank was talking to July issue of Red is on sale 30th May available on iTunes

by Matt Shine for www.malextra.com

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