THE JIG IS UP
NYCFC comes clean about Lampard deal
After all the drama over Frank Lampard’s signing, all the questions about who lied to whom and when, New York City FC, Manchester City and Lampard himself all came clean on Friday. NYCFC admitted unintentionally misleading fans by wrongly claiming Lampard had signed a contract with the MLS expansion team.
Lampard had been paraded around New York City in July as New York City FC’s marquee acquisition and Designated Player, proudly announcing that Chelsea’s alltime leading goal scorer had “signed a twoyear contract which starts August 1st.” Turns out Lampard had just a “commitment” to play for NYCFC on a twoyear deal starting January 2015, he and City Football Group said on Friday.
New York City FC’s parent company told the Associated Press in London that the NYC FC announcement in July “was a genuine error which throws everything into confusion (for media and fans). It wasn’t a contract. It’s an agreement with City Football Group with intention to play for NYCFC.”
It was clearly an error; it remains to be seen how genuine.
Even that was only discovered because of Lampard’s winter move to Manchester City, the English Premier League rival of Chelsea. Manchester City actually coowns NYCFC along with the Yankees. It was portrayed as a “loan,” one that NYCFC sporting director Claudio Reyna had insisted would end in time for Lampard to join the team for its initial training camp later this month.
But on New Year’s Eve, that move was extended to the end of the Premier League season in June, raising eyebrows. Now Man City admits Lampard’s only current playing contract is with the EPL champs, while he won’t come to New York until July.
“Frank has a contract with MC FC until (June 30). He also has a precontract signed with NYCFC commencing (July 1),’’ Lampard’s agent, Steve Kutner, told The Post. And the veteran midfielder himself made a statement on Facebook on Friday to try to explain things.
“I want to make it completely clear about my situation as I have read a lot of lies and nonsense over the last few days,” Lampard wrote. “When released from Chelsea last year at the end of my contract, I signed a commitment to play in NYCFC for two years starting January 1st 2015. I was then offered the chance to train and be a part of the Man City squad in the interim to keep myself in the best shape going into New York.
“This period has since been extended by Man City and I will now start playing for NYCFC at the end of this current Premier League season. There has al ways been a constant dialogue between all parties in this time to find the best solution for everyone. I can say that I am very excited about arriving in New York and giving everything to the team to make us a success in the MLS as soon as possible. Thanks everyone for your ongoing support and I wish everyone a healthy and happy 2015.”
But there are a number of unhappy fans, especially in the Third Rail supporters group, an independent fan group for NYCFC.
First, Lampard will miss the half the season, his first possible appearance being Game 18 on July 4 at Montreal. Second, tickets were sold to fans on the basis of having a player the club never truly signed. Third, what does that say about NYC FC in the City Football Group pecking order?
“If we’d known the situation all along I don’t think it would’ve been an issue,” Third Rail leader Chance Michael said. “There would’ve been grumbling, but that wouldn’t have been a huge deal. The issue is I’m extremely concerned about the relationship between my club and City Football Group. I’m concerned they won’t be the priority within City Football Group they need to be.
“I understand Man City has more history, makes more money. But we need NYCFC to get the resources it needs to grow. ... I’m more concerned about our front off ice’s ability to get resources from the parent company and the lack of transparency across the board, from NYCFC, from Man City, from City Football Group, and especially MLS. I don’t see how the league approved this contract.’’