Frank Lampard reveals truth about why Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah were ‘patted away’ by Chelsea

Frank Lampard has explained that Chelsea were quick to move on Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah due to the club’s brutal mentality.

Salah and De Bruyne have both gone on to enjoy legendary careers and are among the Premier League’s best ever players.

De Bruyne has been instrumental in several Premier League title and cup victories for Manchester City since he joined them in 2015, including last season’s remarkable treble triumph when the Blues clinched the Champions League for the first time in their history.

Salah has also won all there is to win with Liverpool and has scored over 200 goals for the Merseyside outfit, putting him third in the club’s scoring ranks behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt.

Another thing the duo have in common is they endured difficult stints at Chelsea early in their careers when their obvious potential was not utilised.

They made just 28 appearances between them for the London club before leaving and proving what a massive mistake their former employer made by enjoying incredible success since. Their former teammate Lampard has explained how they came to leave so quickly.

What Lampard said

“I remember with Carlo [Ancelotti] one year he came in, we won the [Premier] League and we won the FA Cup, but we got knocked out by Inter Milan in the Champions League,” Lampard said on the Stick to Football podcast.

“José [Mourinho] beat us at the Bridge and he [Roman Abramovich] came in and went at everybody from ourselves, the manager – it was strong. After that, we went about nine games unbeaten, and we were winning. We started winning 7-0, 8-0, at the back end of the season and he had [Nicolas] Anelka, [Didier] Drogba, [Florent] Malouda, and we were strong, but we had been a bit like that [rocky].

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“Not saying it was just that, so when I say it was the players [that made Chelsea successful], it was also a cultural thing around the club. 

“It was like, ‘We are winners’, coming second was a disaster – I felt as well, we as a group of players – not the ones that go, ‘See you later next year lads, we’re in the Champions League next year anyway. It landed [Roman’s mentality] and then it was what it was – and maybe sacking managers, as much as it could have been good or bad, was a reminder of the brutality of it – if you don’t live up to the standards of the owner, and if you don’t live up to the standards of the dressing room, when we were strong on that.

“There were loads of players that came in – not to say this is the reason, but Kevin De Bruyne came through and moved on, and [Mohamed] Salah, and they’re obviously world class players, to say the least now, but there were a lot of players that got patted away.” 

Frank Lampard was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.