Frank Lampard has called time on his illustrious football career.

The Chelsea legend took to social media to announce that he is stepping away from the sport after more than two decades.

Despite receiving multiple offers to continue playing following the conclusion of his contract with Major League Soccer’s New York City FC, Lampard explained that he is content with his accomplishments and that it’s “time to begin the next chapter” of his life.

“After 21 incredible years, I have decided that now is the right time to finish my career as a professional footballer,” he said on his Instagram page.

“Whilst I have received a number of exciting offers to continue playing at home and abroad, at 38 I feel now is the time to begin the next chapter in my life. I’m immensely proud of the trophies I’ve won, of representing my country over 100 times and of scoring more than 300 career goals.”

The 38-year-old went on to thank his former clubs – West Ham, Manchester City, and NYCFC – before paying tribute to Chelsea, where he spent the majority of his career and won numerous trophies during the most successful era in the club’s history.

“Of course, the largest part of my heart belongs to Chelsea, a club which has given me so many great memories,” he said.

“I will never forget the opportunity they gave me and the success that we managed to achieve together. It is impossible to give thanks individually to all the people that helped and supported me in my 13 years playing there.

“All I can say is from the day I signed until now and going forward, I’m eternally grateful for everything and to everyone.”

Although he’s hanging up his boots, he won’t be far from a football pitch. He thanked the FA for the chance to pursue an opportunity to coach, and added that he is eager to pursue “off-field opportunities.”

Lampard – whose decision to retire comes just months after compatriot Steven Gerrard stepped away from the game – finishes his storied career with countless trophies, including three Premier League titles and a Champions League crown.

He also leaves the game with 106 England caps and more than 300 goals – 211 of which came as a Chelsea player, making him the club’s all-time leading scorer.

Manchester United could have a new No. 7 on its books next season.

The Red Devils have an agreement in principle to nab Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid at the end of the season, according to The Telegraph’s James Ducker, with discussions already conducted on a £15-million-a-year contract and the striker indicating enthusiasm over a move to England.

Although Atletico manager Diego Simeone said he wouldn’t stand in Griezmann’s way if he wanted to leave, club president Enrique Cerezo has vowed to fight to retain the services of the France international.

If United was to trigger Griezmann’s reported £85-million (€100-million) release clause, however, the Atletico brass would be powerless to prevent the departure of its star striker, who’s a close friend of United midfielder Paul Pogba.

Not only will linking up with Pogba and the prospect of wearing a shirt number previously donned by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, George Best, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham appeal to Griezmann, he may be encouraged to move due to how things are going in the Spanish capital.

Simeone could leave Los Colchoneros next summer after making the peculiar decision to shorten his deal by two years in September, and Griezmann has previously stated: “I would only leave if Simeone was to go.”

On-pitch matters may also encourage the 25-year-old’s exit. Griezmann continues to be a ruthless finisher and display sublime vision – crafting eight goals and four assists in 19 La Liga appearances – but, despite being supplemented by Kevin Gameiro and Nico Gaitan in attack this season, Atleti is 10 points adrift of La Liga topper Real Madrid.

A 2-1 semi-final first-leg home defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday also has its Copa del Rey hunt at risk, while Bayer Leverkusen’s exciting wide-play – featuring Hakan Calhanoglu, Julian Brandt, and new boy Leon Bailey – poses a tougher challenge in the Champions League Round of 16 than many pundits are anticipating.

And, despite Cerezo’s sentiments suggesting otherwise, the club’s boardroom may sanction a transfer under Griezmann’s minimum fee release clause to free up funds after the expensive move to the Wanda Metropolitano, a 67,000-capacity stadium, set for the summer.

Griezmann joined Atletico Madrid from Real Sociedad in 2014, and is contracted until 2021.

Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director wasn’t willing to acknowledge speculation over a potential move involving Marco Reus after reports linked Arsenal with the Germany international.

Although rumours involving Reus are nothing new, recent reports out of England suggest Arsenal has identified the 27-year-old as a possible replacement should Alexis Sanchez decide against signing a new contract and potentially depart the club.

German outlet Bild added fuel to the fire by reporting Arsenal is willing to launch a €60-million bid to land Reus.

However, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc wasn’t willing to address the unsubstantiated reports.

“I won’t waste my time with half-baked stuff, Zorc told Bild, according to Stephan Uersfeld of ESPNFC. “It’s not known to me that Marco wants to leave us.”

When he’s not injured, rumours involving Reus’ departure have become somewhat of a transfer-window tradition. Yet, while he’s watched plenty of teammates leave Dortmund, Reus has never come close to leaving the club he first joined as a seven-year-old.

Reus may be forced to watch another one of his teammates depart following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s recent admission that he’s considering a move away from the club in order to “take the next step” in his blossoming career.

Meanwhile, uncertainty over Sanchez’s future at the Emirates Stadium stems from the club’s failure, thus far, to sign the Chile international to a new contract as his current deal edges toward its final 12 months before expiring in June 2018.

Agence France-Presse

January 10, 2017 12:22pm

Reuters

Madrid – Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed he had to overcome media “campaigns” against him to win FIFA’s inaugural “The Best” prize for the world’s best player in 2016.

Ronaldo lifted the award at a star-studded ceremony in Zurich on Monday after a glittering year on the pitch saw him lead Madrid to Champions League glory and captain Portugal to the country’s first ever major international triumph at Euro 2016.

However, Ronaldo’s year was blighted by reports from an international consortium of media organisations in December that claimed a huge data leak involving 18 million documents showed the Portuguese hid €150 million from image rights in the British Virgin Islands.

Ronaldo, 31, has strongly denied all claims of wrongdoing.

“There were many doubts, many campaigns against me from inside and outside football,” Ronaldo told Spanish radio station COPE.

“They wanted to hit me from all sides and the truth is The Best was The Best and that is me, so I am very happy.

“They wanted me to feel bad, but as I have said ‘he who owes nothing, fears nothing in life’. As always, I have shut up a few mouths once again.”

The Spanish tax authorities have committed to investigating the allegations against Ronaldo and a series of other Spanish-based sports stars named in the “Football Leaks” investigation.

However, the four-time World Player of the Year insists he is calm and believes justice will be done in his favour.

“It bothers me because when you do things well, when you help a lot of people and I am going to mention the award for charity work, which is one of the best awards I have in my museum.

“I have helped so many people and you do so many good things, but people want to hit you to camouflage the bad things that others do.

“It bothered me and it continues to bother me, but justice is always done in the end and so we are going to wait and see what happens.”