After a career spanning 21 years the talented midfielder has announced his retirement from football at the age of 38. The announcement came on Lampard's Facebook page and he stated that he had made the decision despite having received a number of offers to continue playing.
Lampard's early career
Like his father Frank senior, Lampard began his footballing career at West Ham. After seasons in the youth team he secured a first team place in the 1997-98 season and in the following season, the Hammers finished fifth in the Premier League, their highest ever place.
The Chelsea years
In 2001 he was transferred for £11m to London rivals Chelsea where he stayed until 2014. It was at Chelsea that his talent really shone through. He became a prodigious goalscorer for The Blues and scored 10 or more goals a season in 10 successive seasons.
It was with the arrival of Jose Mourinho that the trophies began to come his way. He scored 13 in Chelsea's title winning season in 2004/5 under Mourinho, 16 the next when Chelsea retained their title. In 2009/10 and he scored 22 goals as Chelsea collected a third Premier League title.
European glory also came his way with a Champions League win in 2011/12 over Bayern Munich, when he captained the Blues in the absence of the suspended John Terry.
During his time with the club, Chelsea also won four FA Cups, two League Cups, the Europa League and a Community Shield.
International recognition
Lampard made his England debut in 1999 against Belgium and went on to represent his country on 106 occasions scoring 29 goals. International success however eluded him and the players around him who were labelled the 'golden generation'.
Life after Chelsea
Perhaps controversially Lampard decided to join fellow Premier League heavyweights Manchester City for one season from 2014/15, after Chelsea announced he would be leaving. This caused problems as Major League Soccer team New York City FC claimed that he had, in fact, signed for them. As it turned out Lampard played the season for Manchester City and joined NYCFC to a frosty reception the following season.
After shaky start he finally won over the American crowds who celebrated 'frank lampard Day' when he netted his 300th career goal.
The Lampard legacy
There can be no doubt that Lampard has been one of the most talented and consistent of his generation. He has throughout his career broken several records that have stood for years:
He is Chelsea FC's highest ever goalscorer with 211.
He scored against a record 39 teams in the premier league
He is third on the list of most Premier League appearances 607.
He is 4th in the number of goals scored at 177
He is second in number of assists 102
He scored more goals (41) from outside the box than any other Premier League player
What of the future ?
He has been taking coaching qualifications and his future may well lie in this area. If it does then he will no doubt be a highly sought after member of any team's coaching staff.
