Chelsea FC: Retaining Frank Lampard Would Have Stalled Development Of Others - Jose Mourinho

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho believes that the club made a right decision in no longer keeping Frank Lampard, as retaining the latter would have stalled the development of other players.

The 36-year-old former England international's contract expired last summer, with the west London outfit opting not to offer him a one-year extension, per club's contract policy involving players aged over 30.

"He left Chelsea as a free agent and chooses his life, we can't complain about it. That's football," said Mourinho.

"My view is that, when you want to look forward, look to the future, and have people like (Cesc) Fabregas and (Nemanja) Matic and Jeremie Boga (a U21 midfielder), which are the next 10 years of the club."

The Portuguese mentor has already revealed his intention of staying with the Blues for more than a while, just like how Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United, and dispatching older players whom he thinks will hinder the squad's growth, which were the case with Lampard and Ashley Cole, is a start.

"The project is to prepare for the next 10 years, not for the next year. We made the right decision," he continued.

"You can argue 'You have John Terry and Didier Drogba'. Different.

"Drogba is a striker that is coming to help and support the team. John Terry is the best central defender in English football and it doesn't matter how old he is.

"The nucleus of the team has to be developed and to have a big player like Frank we would stop the development of the other guys."

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