EX-CHELSEA boss Jose Mourinho has labelled Frank Lampard the “best player” he’s encountered in the Premier League.
Former England international Lampard left Stamford Bridge a legend in the summer of 2014, having become their all-time top scorer with 211 goals.
Scoring from midfield was Lampard’s trademark, but his all-round ability earned him such high recognition by all.
“At Chelsea, in my first period, I had Frank Lampard, probably the best player in the Premier League for one decade,” Mourinho told the Straits Times.
Mourinho worked with Lampard for just over four years in total while the pair were in west London together, and briefly came up against him during the midfielder’s short spell at Manchester City.
Lampard was part of the Chelsea team that won consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, but the squad also included some class acts around him.
The likes of world-renowned stars Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben and John Terry accompanied the now New York City player in Mourinho’s formidable old team.
However, it was Lampard who got the nod from the Portuguese coach, who Express Sport understands has been offered a return to the Premier League to be the next Manchester United manager.
While Lampard was named as the best in the Premier League, the ex-Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss couldn’t go as far as to name his greatest ever player.
Mourinho added: “Who was my best player? It’s so difficult to say and I coached some of the best players in the world.
“I went to Inter [Milan], I had [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, I got [Javier] Zanetti. I got to Madrid, I had [Cristiano] Ronaldo. I come back to Chelsea and I find other top players.
“If have so many, they gave me so much, it’s not fair to say this is the one. It’s impossible to win so many things without the players so I respect all of them.”
credit: express
