England midfielder Frank Lampard could bid goodbye to Chelsea this winter as Chinese clubs are reportedly ready to pay him £250,000 a week after tax.
The news came just on the heels of the reports that Lampard's days at Chelsea are numbered with coach Roberto Di Matteo making it clear that the veteran midfielder should get use to warming the bench in the days to come. He is in the final year of his contract and has not signed an extension
Shanghai Shenhua club, which has signed former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, and Beijing Guoan are ready to pay £1 million a month to Lampard, reported The Sun.
The 34-year-old England midfielder, who moved to Chelsea in 2001 for £11 million, is free to join any club in January 2013 as his contract with Chelsea will come to an end by then. The Blues' bosses are very unlikely to extend his contract as they have made it very clear that they are not interested in players over 30 years of age, and Drogba's case is a perfect example.
It is also reported that LA Galaxy is keen to rope in Lampard to replace David Beckham (38), who is expected to retire soon.
Roberto Di Matteo had earlier rubbished reports that Lampard had been rotated on a regular basis in the recent past indicating that his days in Chelsea are numbered.
"Frank is still a very important player. He's been so successful with this club and he will continue to be successful. I hope he will stay for the rest of his career. But at the back end of last season we had talks. With the amount of games we play, I tried to get the best out of him by probably not playing him in all of them, to make sure he could be ready for others," Daily Star quoted Di Matteo as saying.
