Red faces for City as Lampard has say in row

The player is clearly unhappy with damage to his reputation

Frank Lampard was due to join New York City on 1 January, but Manchester City have kept him (PA)

Manchester City are at the centre of a humiliating row over the decision to deny Frank Lampard the chance to leave for the United States this month, with the player clearly unhappy with damage to his reputation and the Premier League feeling the club have been economical with the truth over their plans for him.

The former Chelsea player issued a statement indicating that it had not been his choice to renege on his promise to be a Major League Soccer (MLS) player for New York City FC’s new campaign.

City then admitted they had misled MLS supporters in stating on the website of NYCFC – their affiliate club – that Lampard had signed a contract from August 2014. They also admitted that they had misled their own supporters in claiming that the player had been loaned to City. City’s new version of events was that they had themselves signed Lampard from Chelsea on a six-month deal until December.

But the Premier League insists that no player can be signed for six months – and that to do so would be a breach of Premier League rule T11, which stipulates that any contract must be for at least 12 months. City have, in fact, signed Lampard for 12 months, with a 31 December break clause, and only a pre-contract agreement has been signed with NYCFC.

It has not been made clear who has paid a signing-on fee for Lampard or who has paid his wages since last August.

Lampard wrote on his Facebook page: “When released from Chelsea last year at the end of my contract I signed a commitment to play in NYC FC for two years starting January 1, 2015.

“I was then offered the chance to train and be part of the Man City squad in the interim to keep myself in the best shape going into New York. This period has since been extended by Man City and I now will start playing for NYC FC at the end of this Premier League season.”