Frank Lampard insists his surprising decision to sign for Manchester City after he ended his long spell at Chelsea last summer has not caused lasting damage to his legacy with the Stamford Bridge club.
Some Chelsea fans were disappointed by Lampard's move to join title rivals City for a season after he initially decided to join MLS side New York City, yet the 36-year-old midfielder is not concerned that his spell in Manchester will have tarnished his status as a Blues legend.
"I had 13 years at Chelsea and I will always be a Chelsea boy because I played there and have so many memories," Lampard said on an appearance on a Channel 4 chat show to be broadcast on Friday.
"They decided I was moving on and at 35 you are not going to fight that. If they want you to move on you move on. Then Manchester City came in for me. it was too good to turn down.
"At 36, not many people get asked to play for the champions of England at the time for five months. I have got such a great relationship with the Chelsea fans. It hasn't broken it.
"I still have my main house in Chelsea and I go back to London a lot, I hope I won't ever lose that, I don't think I will."
Lampard also confirmed he is still a huge admirer of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, even though the Portuguese tactician was believed to be part of the decision making process that saw the midfielder's 13-year stay at Stamford Bridge end last summer.
"He is brilliant. If you wanted to bottle a manager and get all the good bits in it, he has got them," Lampard said.
"I say that because he helped me in my career a huge amount. When he came I didn't have that self-confidence, I was 25, and he brought that out of me. And he does that with all the players he works with.
"He is very good at gauging a player and he knows if you need a [lecture] he will give it to you individually or as a team on a day but if you need a little bit of love and niceness he does that as well."
Lampard also spoke out in support of gay footballers going public over their sexuality, as he suggested a more open discussion about the subject would be positive for the game.
"I would love it if someone came out and everyone treated it with respect," he added. "I have to say the game is changing a lot, there are a lot of campaigns and I feel it in the dressing rooms. This silly thing that we are macho and we play football is very old hat.
"We have had a couple come out afterwards. I think it is a fact they will be out there, they are in all lives and times, but we are at fault as a sport. It is that old syndrome where it is a man's game and you can't talk about that."
Lampard is due to link up with his New York City team-mates once City's Premier League campaign comes to an end, with his belated start day in MLS now inked in for July 1.