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Lampard praises Abramovich ahead of Moscow homecoming

21/05/2008

Midfielder Frank Lampard has said Chelsea should be thankful for the hard work of owner Roman Abramovich for enabling the club to play in a Champions League final.

Ahead of this evening's showpiece match at the Luzhniki Stadium against Manchester United, the England international paid tribute to the Russian - whose millions have built an all-star side at Stamford Bridge.

Abramovich bought the Blues in June 2003 and has since ploughed a substantial fortune into the club in order to improve its infrastructure as well as its playing staff.

Signing big-name players in the ilk of Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko has raised Chelsea's international profile beyond recognition from the former cash-strapped west London outfit of the late 1990s.

And Lampard said the fact that the European final - which has always been the owner's main goal - was to be played in Abramovich's home town of Moscow was "a nice touch".

"For Chelsea as a club this is a special event," Lampard explained.

"Our owner is Russian. The club before Roman Abramovich wouldn't have got this far, so it's a nice touch that the final is in Moscow."