Rio Ferdinand says Frank Lampard ‘won’t get Chelsea job’ if he wins Champions League, but Joe Cole disagrees

Rio Ferdinand does not believe Frank Lampard will be given the Chelsea head coach role on a permanent basis even if his side win the Champions League this season.

Lampard was sacked by Roman Abramovich in January 2021 after 18 months in charge. Thomas Tuchel replaced him and led Chelsea to the Champions League trophy in the same season, but was sacked last September.

Ferdinand cannot see Lampard remaining as Chelsea’s manager next season even if he leads them to European glory.

“Speaking to Frank and knowing him like I do, this is where he wants to be,” the BT Sport pundit said.

“He wants to be managing and in the dugout dictating things from there. He was obviously a great player but he’ll want to replicate that as a manager.

“He’s got a great opportunity now with what can happen these next games [against Real Madrid] and the end of the season.

“He can either come back and stand with us because he hasn’t done well enough, or he bounces into another job because he’s done so well at Chelsea. It’s a fantastic opportunity for him.”

When asked by Glenn Hoddle what would happen to Lampard if he won the Champions League, Ferdinand replied: “He won’t get the job. I don’t think he’ll get the job.”

In 2012, Roberto di Matteo took over as interim manager from Andre Villas-Boas, won the Champions League and then signed a two-year deal in the summer.

Joe Cole, who used to be Lampard’s team-mate at Chelsea and with the England national team, disagrees with Ferdinand and think the club’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali will have “no option” but to hire Lampard should his side lift the trophy in June.

“I think with his connections at the club and the fans, and absolutely with the owners, I think they will have no option but to give him the job.

“But we have seen in the last 20 years at Chelsea they do some interesting things.

“But what an opportunity for him. Frank is a competitor. He’s always going to gravitate to that [the Champions League] and competing and trying to win.”

Speaking to BT Sport before Chelsea’s first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, Lampard said he was “in shorts and a t-shirt watching Netflix” when he received a phone call from the club.

“It was a pretty easy decision for me if I’m honest,” he said.

“It’s a club so close to me and we all know that. I’ve been here before as a coach, so the transition was probably easier for me than others that didn’t know anything about the place. I know pretty much half the squad. For me it was a great opportunity.

“I’ll be honest, I was in my front room in my shorts and t-shirt watching Netflix on my own! And I got the call. It was a big surprise but also a big decision for me.

“It was a big surprise, but it was also a big decision for me because I’m very dedicated to my career. I want to be a good coach. It doesn’t mean you are the Chelsea manager for the rest of your life. The opportunity when it came was a huge deal for me.”

The second leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Chelsea and Real Madrid takes place at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, April 18.