Frank Lampard achieved as much as he could have ever dreamed of in a Chelsea shirt. The Englishman joined from West Ham United in 2001 and went on to become one of the Blues' all-time greats.
Scoring 211 goals in 648 games, the midfielder fired his way to glory, winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Europa League, four FA Cups, and two League Cups. Not a bad haul by any measure.
In that period, Lampard played with some pretty special footballers too. In 2021, in an interview with Planet Football, he named five of them as his best teammates.
John Terry and Didier Drogba
**"**Comfortably the top two I have played with"
In his first answer, he named John Terry and Didier Drogba in the same breath. It's understandable when you think of just how much the trio achieved together. Indeed, they provided a brilliant spine for Chelsea en route to three Premier League titles and that Champions League trophy. Lampard said:
“First and foremost they are great footballers, but they are also winners and that is what sets them apart from most players.
“In the big games, when it matters the most, these men, and that is what they are, stood up to be counted, and they are comfortably the top two I have played with for that reason.”
Eden Hazard
"The most naturally gifted player"
Eden Hazard with the Premier League trophy
Eden Hazard was always going to get a mention here, too. The brilliant Belgian won the Europa League alongside Lampard, but his two Premier League titles came after the Englishman had left. Even so, the goalscoring midfielder spoke in glowing terms of his former teammate:
“There is no limit to how far he can go. Hazard is the most naturally gifted player I played with and on his day he is unstoppable.
“He has said he wants to be up there with the best players in the world and he has the talent to do that. He just needs to add the consistency and the goals of a Messi or a Ronaldo to be considered in that class.”
Gianfranco Zola
“He means so much to Chelsea fans"
Gianfranco Zola celebrates with his arms outstretched after scoring for Chelsea.
Gianfranco Zola played with Lampard towards the start of his Chelsea career in the early 2000s, with the Italian leaving in 2003. They didn't win any major honours together – with the former one of the finest players to never win the Premier League – but the Englishman still appreciated just what a special player Zola was:
“He means so much to Chelsea fans. Of all the foreign players who came to the club at the start of the new era if you like, Zola is the one the fans loved more than any other.
“He was fantastic on and off the field. A great fella and a fantastic footballer.”
Gianfranco Zola to one side in Italy kit - with Diego Maradona (Napoli) and Frank Lampard (Chelsea) with chalkboard and formation on it Related
Gianfranco Zola Named His Mind-Blowing Greatest Teammates 11
Chelsea icon Gianfranco Zola named his mind-blowing greatest teammates XI.
Sergio Aguero
"This guy was world-class"
sergio aguero
The only player who was not a Stamford Bridge teammate, Sergio Aguero, evidently left a big impression on Lampard – even if he did pick up a lot of fines for being late – during his time at Manchester City. Their paths crossed for just one season, but the midfielder was taken aback right from the off:
“I was not at Man City for long, but straight away you could see that this guy was world-class. The goals he scored on the training pitch every day were frightening and he took that on to the field.
“You only need to look at his record since he came to City to appreciate what a class act he is and he was great to play with.”