Manchester City have admitted making mistakes regarding Frank Lampard’s status, with the club moving to clarify he never signed a two-year deal with New York City FC and so the midfielder was never on loan from the MLS franchise. Instead City say Lampard agreed “a head of terms commitment” with NYCFC that began on 1 January.
Lampard’s precise agreement with NYCFC, City’s sister club, has been unclear after it emerged last week the 36-year-old was never signed by the manager, Manuel Pellegrini, on a temporary basis despite the champions stating this was the case on their website.
A clarification issued on Friday by the club said: “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.”