Lump it, Lamps: You can forget about moving to Inter, Chelsea tell Frank
Chelsea on Wednesday night raised the stakes in their acrimonious contract battle with England midfielder Frank Lampard by insisting they will hold him to the final year of his deal.
Chief executive Peter Kenyon confirmed that Inter Milan's latest £7.9million offer for Lampard has been rejected and said any future offers, with Inter understood to be preparing an increased bid, would also be turned down.
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Frank admission: Peter Kenyon is adamant Frank Lampard will remain at Chelsea for at least one more season
Chelsea's hard-line stance leaves Lampard three options: sign the four-year £140,000-a-week offer currently on the table; see out the remaining year of his £120,000-a-week contract and leave on a Bosman next summer; or take the risk of tearing up his contract and walking away.
Speaking on the club's television channel, Kenyon said: 'The situation is ongoing. We have always maintained that we want Frank to stay and an offer was made to that effect.
'That offer is still on the table. Frank is under contract and he still has one year to run on that. We'd like to hope we can reach an agreement, but if we can't we have always worked on the basis that Frank sees out the terms of his contract.'
Kenyon's words swiftly followed Tuesday's training ground exchange with Lampard, which was prompted by new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari's assertion that the former West Ham midfielder would be staying at Stamford Bridge for 'many years'.
Scolari's hint that Lampard and Chelsea were close to an agreement was later refuted by the player's agent, while Kenyon also denied that Scolari had pressurised his new employers to raise their contract offer.
'It is totally untrue that Felipe was pushing the club or putting pressure on us to change the offer to Frank,' said Kenyon. 'At no stage was he ever in conflict with the club's position or asked the board or the owner to change the offer.'
Lampard: Three options
It remains to be seen whether Chelsea's refusal to meet Lampard's demand for a five-year contract worth £150,000 a week will persuade him to take the drastic step of using Article 17 of FIFA regulations regarding player contracts and transfers.
He has missed the 15-day window at the end of last season which could have seen him buy out the last year of his contract.
And though, in theory, Lampard could still walk out, doing so would almost certainly incur the wrath of FIFA, football's governing body. Potential sanctions include a hefty fine and the possibility of him being banned from playing for Inter for at least the start of next season.
In addition, if FIFA were to decide that Inter had induced Lampard to break his contract with Chelsea, the Italian club could also be prevented from registering any further signings for one year.
Former Hearts defender Andy Webster, the only player to use Article 17 when he walked out on his club to join Wigan in 2006, saw his original fine by FIFA reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport from £625,000 to £150,000.
Robinho's proposed £30m move from Real Madrid to Chelsea has moved a step closer after Wagner Ribeiro, the Brazilian striker's agent, flew to London for further talks with Stamford Bridge sporting director Frank Arnesen.
