Lampard to go for £8m + bizarre FIFA rule

[Shaggy]

Anyone seen this?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/6307077.stm

Inter and AC Milan have shown an interest in Frank Lampard after learning the England midfielder can leave Chelsea for £8m in the summer.

Lampard, 28, has yet to sign a new contract and could walk away from the Blues under a little-known Fifa rule.

AC Milan's general director Ariedo Braida told the Mail on Sunday: "Is this true? Lampard for £8m? If this is the case it is very interesting news."

The newspaper also claimed Inter coach Roberto Mancini is keen on Lampard.

The Fifa rule states that players who have served three years of a contract they signed before the age of 28 can buy themselves out - as long as they give 15 days' notice.

And Lampard's agent Steve Kutner recently said that talks between the player and Chelsea on extending the former West Ham star's career at Stamford Bridge are only at the preliminary stage.

That has already alerted the likes of Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid but the two big guns from Milan have now come into the equation.

Braida said: "Lampard is a very good player, one of the best around, and this situation is something I wasn't aware of at all."

[cobain]

The Fifa rule states that players who have served three years of a contract they signed before the age of 28 can buy themselves out - as long as they give 15 days' notice.

Now what kind of ****e is this?!

Sooner or later, a player, who signed 8-year contract, will be free to leave after 6 months or 1 year. ****, what a bunch of ******s!

[Red_Al_77]

Players will only get richer from this. Clubs will be forced to offer them the earth. It's a farce.

[desertscouser]

What kind of clown would put a rule like this into place? It's farcical.

[cobain]

What kind of clown would put a rule like this into place? It's farcical.

A clown with an IQ of a dead goldfish...

[stringy]

Now what kind of ****e is this?!

Sooner or later, a player, who signed 8-year contract, will be free to leave after 6 months or 1 year. ****, what a bunch of ******s!

Great post!!! Your spot on

[dww]

One day footballers might be treated like any other form of employee. How outrageous.

To be fair with big contracts it does give players more power but it's not a huge change. I imagine that contracts will get more complicated but I think people are making a big fuss about nothing here.

[SouthAfricaRed]

How long does he have left on his contract?

If they allowed him to run it down to only year then they are silly

[NICKZS]

Anyone seen this?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/6307077.stm

Inter and AC Milan have shown an interest in Frank Lampard after learning the England midfielder can leave Chelsea for £8m in the summer.

Lampard, 28, has yet to sign a new contract and could walk away from the Blues under a little-known Fifa rule.

AC Milan's general director Ariedo Braida told the Mail on Sunday: "Is this true? Lampard for £8m? If this is the case it is very interesting news."

It actually sounds like the Mail are ringing round everybody and telling them that Lampard can leave for £8m, and then just printing their reactions.

[Morph]

Was reading something about this in the paper last week as far as i'm aware it's a new rule that's come in/coming in. Believe I read it in relation to the news that Xabi and Garcia were going to be signing new contracts. Will see if I can find it.

[Morph]

Here it is:

Spaniards set for new contract talks

Jan 24 2007

by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post


Rafael Benitez with new signings Xabi Alonso (right) and Luis Garcia to Anfield

LIVERPOOL are ready to sit down and discuss new contracts with Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia.

Rafael Benitez is keen to extend the Anfield careers of the Spanish duo, who have proven a huge success in England since arriving before deadline day in August 2004.

Alonso, signed for £10.6million from Real Sociedad, is under contract until the summer of 2009, while Garcia, a £6m capture from Barcelona, is poised to become a free agent at the end of next season.

Alonso has long been linked with a move to Real Madrid while Garcia is attracting the interest of former club Atletico Madrid, despite being ruled out for the rest of the season with cruciate ligament damage.

Liverpool, though, want to keep hold of both players and negotiations could even begin later this week, with Benitez having already indicated his desire to reach a new agreement with goalkeeper Pepe Reina to head off interest from Valencia.

Liverpool have also made the move in light of new rules over contracts that are due to come into force in August.

Referred to as the “protected period”, if a player’s contract was signed prior to reaching the age of 28 then, provided he has completed three entire seasons or three entire years, he is permitted to buy out the remainder of his contract with just 15 days’ notice. However, if the contract was signed after he reaches 28, only two seasons or years must be served.

In effect, the buy-out value will become the player’s transfer value as interested clubs would no doubt pay the fee rather than the player himself.

Both Alonso and Garcia fall out of their “protected period” at the end of the season and could conceivably then buy out their present contracts.

Meanwhile, Alonso believes Liverpool must not allow their concentration to falter after their defeat of Chelsea at the weekend.

The victory moved the Anfield outfit to within five points of the second-placed Londoners, with leaders Manchester United now a further six points ahead.

United visit Anfield on March 3, but before then Liverpool face a quartet of games that could effectively shape the remainder of their league campaign.

Benitez’s side visit West Ham United next Tuesday then entertain Everton in the Merseyside derby four days later, which is followed by a trip to Newcastle United and a home clash with Sheffield United.

And midfielder Alonso knows Liverpool need to remain focused on their short-term targets, starting with victory at Upton Park next week.

“It’s dangerous when people start talking about the title, because we must be realistic,” said the Spaniard.


Story continues Continue story
ADVERTISEMENT

“The position we are in now shows we are improving, and I would prefer to think about that rather than other things.

“We are in a good situation now, but we have to concentrate on keeping going and not think about the gap that’s still there. You can see we’re progressing and improving with every game.

“All the games become important, but once you’ve proven you can beat the top sides, you have to carry on in the same way and not believe you’ve already achieved your target. Now, after a win like against Chelsea, it’s important to keep our confidence, but not allow our concentration to slip.”

Liverpool reserves’ mini-derby against Everton last night was postponed due to a frozen pitch at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground. No new date has yet been arranged for the fixture.

# STOKE manager Tony Pulis confirmed the signing of Liverpool midfielder Salif Diao until the end of the season after a 1-0 win at Burnley took the Potters back into theCoca-Cola Championship play-off places.

[anfieldpurch]

More stupid rules by Sepp Blatter's gang. i wouldnt say no to an £8m Lampard

[Morph]

i would, so overrated it's untrue

[SouthAfricaRed]

i would, so overrated it's untrue

Not to mention the wages he would want, Few clubs could afford him anyway

[Fiddy]

One day footballers might be treated like any other form of employee. How outrageous.

True, a lot of people don't seem to realise how weird the world of football is with regards to employment contracts. I've seen for myself how little they mean in the real world when the company I work for got taken over...anyone getting up in arms over this is just being silly. They've done this just to appease people who were looking into whether the transfer system is restraint of trade etc...remember all the fuss over Bosman and now it's perfectly accepted. Eventually a players' remaining contract value will be all they're worth, and even then things might go further, so people just need to get used to it.