The Italian champions had hoped to reunite the 30-year-old England international with former Blues boss Jose Mourinho at the San Siro, with Lampard having stalled on signing a new contract at Stamford Bridge.

However, Moratti soon accepted that a deal could not be reached, with his club instead moving to sign Sulley Muntari from Portsmouth.

He told the Italian press: "There was an important problem with the player, he belongs to Chelsea.

"We had the utmost respect for the position he was in, because he was owned by another club and it wasn't easy for him to come.

"It seemed as if there was a chance of signing him, but then we realised it was impossible and so we thought it was best not to spend six months chasing him.

"We opted to sign Sulley Muntari instead and I am happy because he is doing really well."