As it happens it would seem strabge if his representatives did not use this as a bargaining too.
The Indie follows on:
Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard could use a little-known Fifa rule to negotiate new contracts at Chelsea and Liverpool that could earn them close to £175,000 a week and push them towards the world-record deal David Beckham recently announced with LA Galaxy. Purely for playing, Beckham will earn around £10m a year (£200,000 a week), with the rest made up of endorsements. On a like-for-like basis, Lampard and Gerrard could earn almost as much.
The rule which could help them is Article 17 of Fifa's transfer regulations, under which players can unilaterally cancel their contracts after a "protected period" expires, if they pay "buyout" compensation to their clubs, based on wages.
The three-year protection period on Lampard's current five-year deal runs out this summer, so he could theoretically leave then for around £8m, two years' wages. The protection period on Gerrard's four-year deal expires in summer next year, when he could leave for one year's wages, or around £5m.
Lampard's market value is closer to £25m, and Gerrard's next year will probably be around £20m. It is the difference between these figures and the much lower buyout costs that they could pocket in bumper new deals. Lampard wants a five-year deal starting this summer to take him to 2012. Using another Chelsea salary as a benchmark, Andrei Shevchenko's £6m per year, and adding the "differential" between Lampard's buyout and market values, he could argue for £181,000 a week, or £9.4m a year. He would settle for less.
Lampard's agent, Steve Kutner, told The Independent yesterday Lampard wants to sign a new deal at Chelsea, and that as things stand, "he's not intending to invoke the clause [Article 17]." He added, however: "We know about the rule, and I've talked to Peter Kenyon [Chelsea's chief executive] about what Frank's worth to Chelsea, and what he's worth to other clubs. The fact of the matter is that Frank's about as indispensable to Chelsea as anyone, not just creating goals and scoring them, but as a marketing icon. His shirt sales outstrip any other player by four to one."
Article 17 has caused disquiet since Andy Webster, a Scotland defender, became the first person in the world to invoke it to move from Heart of Midlothian to Wigan Athletic last summer.