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Truth Comes Out, Exposes Frank Lampard ‘Loan Deal’ To Manchester City As Complete Sham

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Frank Lampard of Manchester City gives instructions during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Sunderland at Etihad Stadium on January 1, 2015 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Alex Livesey-Getty Images

After the latest twist in the ludicrous Frank Lampard loan saga, Major League Soccer and commissioner Don Garber have come off as the new official laughing stock of the soccer world. The Premier League club Manchester City revealed on Friday that the English international was never signed by their ‘farm team’ New York City FC of MLS and that Lampard was actually under contract with City for two years.

“The statement on the NYCFC website in July saying Lampard’s two-year contract took effect from Aug. 1, 2014 was a mistake. [The] initial statement on City’s website that it was a loan was also an error.”

But Lampard completely contradicted the latest statement from City on Friday saying he had in fact signed a deal with NYFC.

“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,” he told England’s Guardian Newspaper. “When released from Chelsea last year at the end of my contract I signed a commitment to play I with NYCFC for two years starting on January 1, 2015. I was then offered the chance to train and be part of the Man City squad in the interim to keep myself in the best shape going into New York.”

This is mass confusion for Garber and MLS. Think of how the league office is reacting to news that Lampard never signed a deal since the league is run as a single entity ownership arrangement and actually own the contract of all players. How could they not have checked the fine print? Are Manchester City lying? Now it’s up to Garber and MLS to smooth things over with NYFC’s already enraged fan base.

If you read my earlier post you already know that the wealthy majority owners of NYFC — City Ownership Group — had ruffled the feathers of the expansion club’s season ticket holder base when they announced last month that Lampard would have his loan at Manhchester City extended until the end of the Premier League season. New Yorkers don’t settle for second best, so what world were the new owners living in? Critics slammed the expansion club as merely being a second-best farm team for Manchester City when they got news that Lampard would miss the team’s regular season opener against the New England Revolution on Mar. 15 at Yankee Stadium and wouldn’t join the them until sometime in July.

Now the question remains where does it leave MLS and NYFC’s credibility with the fans? Can you say bush league?

The handling of the situation by commissioner Garber has been a complete joke. He recently tried to smooth over the situation by claiming that Lampard joining his new team in July was just similar to other high-profile designated player signings such as David Beckham and Thierry Henry, who had joined their teams in midseason. But most weren’t buying it, because Lampard and the clubs had initially announced that the loan deal was only a temporary move and Lampard would be back in New York on Jan. 1 ahead of MLS Training camp which begins in February.

Friday’s news came as a slap in the face to both Garber and MLS, which was already dealing with fallout from unpleasant infighting with U.S. Men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann about inferior quality of play in MLS and the announcement that the league had suffered combined losses of $110 million last season. The fans and the rest of the soccer world have already begun to lose faith in MLS, and the latest developments prove the Lampard ‘arrangement’ makes the situation worse.

Peter Mallett is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RedCardTheRef1 like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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