David Villa insists New York City FC will welcome Frank Lampard, despite his decision to delay his move from Manchester City.
NYCFC won their first official match on Tuesday when they beat St Mirren 2-0 in a friendly in Manchester.
"It would have been great if he was here now, but obviously for the football club the best thing is for him to stay in Manchester," Villa said.
"We are only going to be focused to work hard so that when he joins in July, we can be a team that is really good and he can only improve us."