Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has admitted that he wanted to sign Frank Lampard while he was at Inter Milan.

After the Portuguese coach's first spell at Stamford Bridge ended in 2007, Mourinho joined the Italian side the following year.

"I tried to take him to Inter, but I was saying, 'You belong to Chelsea and you should stay'," Mourinho told reporters.

"I wanted to bring him but I also wanted him to stay. I told him, 'If you want to come I want you', but in the end he did what he wanted to do and signed a new contract at Chelsea.

"He was not very far away, but in the end I was happy and I told him so. It was a good decision."

Lampard joined Chelsea from West Ham United in 2001.