Jose Mourinho is of the belief that Chelsea said goodbye to one of their most important players in history last summer.

Frank Lampard departed Stamford Bridge for Manchester City after 13 years with the Blues at the end of last season and Mourinho feels it was an enormous loss for the west Londoners.

"Chelsea lost, at the end of last year, what I consider, for sure, to be one of the five most important players in the history of Chelsea FC: Frank Lampard," said Mourinho.

"We lost that player but life goes on. You have to think about the future and to build, and you have to go with that.

"In Frank Lampard, Chelsea lost a match-winner with a number of goals he scored, a big character, a player without injuries who played every game, a player who beat every record in the Premier League - playing time, number of goals, goals from midfield - an absolutely amazing player.

"We lost him but life goes on."