Frank Lampard, 39, has revealed this week that despite being a legend of the club, he was forced out in 2014 after spending 13 years at the club to make room for midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
The replacement of a legend
The all-time top goal-scorer for Chelsea has told sources he was released by the club he spent the majority of his career for two reasons. The first is that Frank Lampard was approaching the end of his career along with a few other Chelsea players at the time, therefore, the squad needed rejuvenation. While the second, due to ongoing feuds between the English and Spanish midfielder, it was decided it would be best for Lampard to depart the club.
The Romford born footballer played for the Blues 429 times over a 13-year stint at the club, in addition to this, he is the highest goal-scorer in the club's history. Which is remarkable bearing in mind he scored most of these goals from midfield.
The Feud
However, Cesc Fabregas was acquired from Barcelona for the 2014/15 season within the region of £30m, interestingly just nine days after Lampard left the club.
Cesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard have butted heads on multiple occasions and their dislike for each other hasn't gone unnoticed. It is believed their hatred for each other first ignited during the Spanish playmakers time with Arsenal, where the two London clubs would usually experience a heated rivalry.
Furthermore, they experienced yet another heated confrontation during the Champions League Semi-Final of 2012, which Chelsea eventually went on to win the competition. In total, these two players faced each other 18 times, with more or less each time resulting in a confrontation.
Lampard revealed the rivalry while working as a pundit at BT Sport: "We never played together.
They let me go to let Cesc in."
"Me and Cesc never really got on well on the pitch so they didn't think we could share a dressing room" according to the famed England international.
Fabregas' impact
Despite their obvious dislike for each other, the Spanish midfielder has performed well since his arrival at Stamford Bridge. Within his first season, he helped guide a Chelsea side to a Premier League win under Jose Mourinho.
In addition to this, he won the Premier League again under Antonio Conte just two years later and is currently enjoying his fourth season at the club.
However, as the Spanish midfielder approaches his early thirties, the West London team may look for a younger option yet again - to continue to rejuvenate a title challenging squad.
