Frank Lampard responds Wayne Rooney’s bizarre claims he was ‘tucked into bed’ by Chelsea’s masseur while on England duty
- Rooney claimed Chelsea masseur Billy McCulloch helped Lampard to sleep
- McCulloch started handling English players while Steve McLaren was in charge
- Listen to It all starts! Playing Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield was a ‘progressive move, but unfortunately it didn’t work’
Frank Lampard has refuted claims by Wayne Rooney that he was massaged to sleep by Chelsea’s masseur while on duty in England.
The 46-year-old made 106 appearances for the Three Lions and was part of the ‘Golden Generation’ alongside Rooney earlier this century.
Lampard’s former England team-mate had previously revealed that the midfielder enjoyed nightly muscle therapy sessions from Chelsea’s Billy McCulloch alongside John Terry.
However, Lampard, who is currently in Germany as a pundit with the BBC for Euro 2024, has set the record straight.
‘I need to talk to him because I call it selective memory. I don’t know what to call it. Maybe he’s wrong,” he said on BBC 5Live podcast, Football Daily.
Frank Lampard (right) wants to set the record straight after Wayne Rooney’s (left) claims.
Billy McCulloch (left) was Chelsea’s masseur during Lampard’s time in blue and was popular
Lampard added: ‘I’ve certainly never had my feet rubbed to make me fall asleep in my room. I’m just going to correct it [it] Here, I’m not going to speak for John [Terry].’
Chelsea masseur, McCulloch, was a much-loved member of the Blues formation during Lampard and Terry’s time at the club.
The masseuse, known as Bill Blood, joined the English organization during Steve McLaren’s tenure at the helm.
Rooney swore on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, that the two Chelsea legends received massages from McCulloch in the middle of the night.
‘I used to get one [massage] at 9 p.m., but the last ones after me were always JT [Terry] and lamps [Lampard]Rooney claimed.
“Bill, Chelsea’s masseur, was there and he massaged them, then they went to bed and put their feet under the bed, and he massaged them until they fell asleep.
“Massage their feet until they fell asleep, then he tucked them in.” I swear.’
Rooney stated that both Lampard and John Terry were massaged ‘until they fell asleep’
Rooney, Terry and Lampard (from right to left) were part of England’s ‘Golden Generation’
When Lampard heard what Rooney had to say, he found it difficult to imagine such events and decided to share his side of the story while speaking to BBC presenter Mark Chapman.
Lampard said: ‘The story goes that with Billy the masseur who worked at Chelsea and was in England for a while, we all had a very close bond.
“Of course we were working with Billy in the medical room doing work, which is very normal. I’m sure Wayne has had a similar situation.
“I try to imagine falling asleep and Billy finishing and quietly leaving the room. I would have been quite uncomfortable with that, and I love Billy.
‘It definitely didn’t happen. I have witnesses, talk to Billy, get him involved or whatever. It didn’t happen.’
Lampard saw the funny side of it during BBC 5Live’s Football Daily podcast
But despite everything Rooney had to say, Lampard saw the funny side of the whole situation.
“Listen, I’m totally an honest game, I don’t mind that at all. I’m very relaxed about it, but I don’t want a wrong image of myself. I’m going to talk to Wayne, he doesn’t care, people say that’s the way it is now.’