Thursday, June 22, 2006

Barcelona president: No bid for Chelsea's Lampard


Barcelona president Joan Laporta has ruled out a bid for Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard this summer.
Laporta, in Frankfurt to launch a new Nike kit, said: "Lampard is a fantastic player, one I admire.
"But I can say that we definitely will NOT be signing him this summer. Our central midfield is closed now.
"We have a squad we are very happy with and we are very satisfied with Gudjohnsen and that's enough for us.
"Gudjohnsen is a class player who can play in midfield and in attack.
"So I am happy and the coach and the general manage are very happy with the squad that we have."
Laporta added: "Chelsea are a very strong team with a lot of quality players and they also have a lot of financial power and strength.
"But Arsenal, Manchester United and AC Milan also look strong so I believe it will be another tough season.
"We already have a world-class squad that can compete and we believe we can go for a clean sweep to win every competition."