Frank Lampard announced his retirement from football this afternoon after 21 years of incredible memories.
The likes of John Terry lead the tributes as former Chelsea assistant and current Swansea manager Paul Clement revealed his last gasp attempts to try and sign the 38-year-old, in what would have been a remarkable return to the Premier League.
But the former Chelsea and Manchester City midfielder turned down the opportunity and decided to call it a day, ending years of success at his respected clubs.
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"I would have loved to have had him here, so I would be lying if I said I did not try. But I think he was moving towards the decision he made." Clement said.
Clement, who worked with Lampard during his time at Chelsea, went onto praise the 38-year-old for his achievements on the pitch:
"I fully respect his decision. We had a chat and he appreciated I had called because of our relationship. I am not saying it was close - it did not go very far - but it would have been nice.
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"It would be great to see Frank continue in the game of football. I am sure he will think about it over the next weeks and months.
"He has got a lot to offer and I would like to say congratulations to him on such a wonderful career."
"I had the pleasure to work with him very closely for two-and-a-half seasons at Chelsea.
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"I knew him before that because I was at the club in the youth department. I have kept in contact with Frank right up until very recently. I had a couple of messages with him.
"What a fantastic player. What an amazing playing career. A great midfielder and one of the most outstanding goalscoring midfielders that the world has ever seen.
"The fact that at his peak he was scoring 20 goals a season from midfield is an incredible statistic, a lot of Premier League strikers would be proud of those numbers."
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A fitting tribute to a marvelous player.
Thank you for all the memories, Frank.
(H/T: Goal)