I had commented on the fact that he had turned down an offer of £140,000 a week for four years and pointed out that Sky Sports' subscribers - his ultimate paymasters through the Premier League deal - were going through very tough times and Lampard was nothing more than a "dim-witted money-grabber".
It was the expression "dim-witted" which angered Lamps most.
In fact, I got the impression that what he would most like to do is "Lamp" me. He told me: "I am not dim-witted . . . I was educated privately." Nor, he said, was he a "money-grabber".
Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank LampardHe said he couldn't care less about money. I'll have to take his word for that as it's not the kind of thing you can argue with a stranger about - especially a stranger currently making £120,000 a week.Next came my "previous". Apparently, last year I had thrown some bread rolls at him in my column and he had only been stopped from calling me by his mother.
Sadly his mum died three months ago. During our conversation he often referred to his mum, whom he said he was exceptionally close to.
That day he and his sisters had visited the cemetery.
Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank LampardAs we talked he sounded quite fragile. Perhaps it was the mayhem of the Chelsea-Inter situation or more likely the mourning for his mum. Our conversation ended without, in truth, much meeting of minds but I tip my hat to Mr Lampard for having the guts to take up the cudgels.The phone had hardly clicked before I was at lunch in the City of London where the Conservative leader, David Cameron, was speaking to the pin-striped brigade.
Mr Cameron, of course, was also educated privately.
Before tucking in he started working the tables and stumbled across me. The body language wasn't good but he shook my hand and said: "Why don't you say something nice about us?"
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