Premier League: Frank Lampard meets new Manchester City team-mates after joining on loan

Image: Frank Lampard has met up with his new Manchester City team-mates at training today.

Frank Lampard met up with his new Manchester City team-mates for the first time this morning when he reported for training at Carrington.

The 36-year-old midfielder, who was released by Chelsea at the end of last season, joined City on loan from New York City until January. 

It is a short-term move for Lampard who signed in July for New York City, the MLS club owned by City and baseball giants New York Yankees.

The Premier League champions, who purchased the rights to the New York City franchise in May of last year, captured the midfielder on loan less than two weeks after he had signed a two-year deal with the American team.

Joining up with Manchester City is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to train and play at the top level and make sure I am in top condition for New York City.
Frank Lampard

Ahead of training with Manuel Pellegrini's squad, Lampard told the club's website: "Joining up with Manchester City is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to train and play at the top level and make sure I am in top condition for New York City.

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"It has been an amazing few days for me since the unveiling in Brooklyn and everyone connected with both clubs has been fantastic to me. This is a new chapter of my career and I'm really excited about the experience. 

"I met Manuel and some of the players in New York and I'm looking forward to getting into training and making a contribution for Manchester City ahead of my move over to New York."

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City manager Pellegrini added: "Frank is a world-class midfielder and this is an opportunity which works perfectly for everyone, the player, Manchester City, and New York City.

"I'm looking forward to working with him and integrating him into our squad. New York have made a fantastic signing by recruiting Frank, and I'm really pleased that we'll be able to have him with us for the first half of our season and help prepare him for his new challenge."

The move was criticised by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who claimed the route taken by City to secure Lampard was simply a way of bypassing football’s Financial Fair Play rules, which they fell foul of last season.

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