Man City announced last night that Frank Lampard had extended his contract with the club and would remain at the Etihad until the end of the season.
Lampard was announced as a New York City FC player in July but then joined Man City before the start of the Premier League season. The MLS season starts in March and fans of New York City FC are not happy their club will be without the midfielder's services.
A statement from supporters group The Third Rail said that fans were "outraged" as they had bought season tickets on the basis that Lampard would be playing for their side.
On behalf of the Third Rail, we would like to publicly denounce City Football Group’s and Frank Lampard’s decision to extend his loan to Manchester City until the end of the Premier League season.
Many fans, including our members, decided to support the team, committed to season tickets, and bought merchandise under the impression that Frank Lampard would be playing for New York City Football Club, not Manchester City. Many of those fans are rightly outraged by this decision, and we support any course of action they take to voice their discontent over this decision.
Our support for our ownership group has been unwavering until now, but this we cannot support. We reject out of hand any suggestion that NYCFC is in any way secondary to Manchester City FC, regardless of the source, and are disappointed that City Football Group would give such an appearance.
The Third Rail will forever act as a voice for the fans of New York City Football Club.
New York City FC is half owned by Man City, the other half is owned by the New York Yankees (whose stadium will host their games.) Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl tweeted last night that despite New York saying back in July that Lampard had signed a two-year deal, he doesn't have a contract with the club.
NYCFC source says Lampard's contract is owned by Man City & isn't a loan. Only adds questions & doesn't take away from message being sent.
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) January 1, 2015
