The Chelsea squad are determined to win the Champions League to repay owner Roman Abramovich, Frank Lampard has revealed.
Abramovich has spent huge sums of money since taking over the Stamford Bridge outfit in 2003 and has been rewarded with domestic success, winning the Premier League three times, the FA Cup three times and the Carling Cup twice.
However, European football’s biggest prize has continued to elude the Blues, who suffered penalty shoot-out heartache in their only final appearance against Manchester United in 2008.
And speaking ahead of tonight’s second leg of this season’s quarter-final tie with United, in which Chelsea are trailing 1-0, Lampard insists they are determined to hand Abramovich the trophy he wants the most.
Lampard told The Sun: “Everything I've achieved in the last 10 years has only been possible because of the owner's investment.
“I never envisaged that we would be winning league titles, competing in the Champions League and fighting on all fronts year after year so quickly.
“Everything changed when Mr Abramovich arrived in 2003. He has made a huge investment and we are all very thankful
“I'd be very proud to win the Champions League for a lot of reasons but I definitely understand the thought process that we owe it to him to win it.
“He never sits us down and says 'You must win the Champions League, this is the main thing'. But we all know it would be a fantastic thing to him.
“And he deserves it for all that he has given to the club.”