MILAN ADMIT LAMPARD INTEREST

AC Milan general director Ariedo Braida has admitted the Italian club could be ready to make a cut-price summer move for Chelsea's Frank Lampard.

FIFA rules state that players who have served out three years of a contract signed when the player was under 28 can buy themselves out of their own deal with just 15 days' notice at the end of the season.

The buy-out fee is based on wages not market value meaning Lampard could be available for around £8million.

Braida was interested in the news and raised the possibility of a summer bid for the England midfielder.

"Is this true? Lampard available for £8m?" Braid told the Sunday Mail. "If this is the case, of course it is interesting news.

"Lampard is a very good player, one of the best around, and this is something I wasn't aware of at all. I am glad I have been made aware of this situation."

The Stamford Bridge club last week suggested that they were close to signing a new deal with Lampard but nothing concrete has emerged from talks between club and player.

Braida, meanwhile, confirmed that a host of European clubs would join the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal in opposing new UEFA president Michel Platini's plans to limit each country's Champions League quota to three.

He told the News of the World: "None of the Spanish, Italian, English or German clubs want this and we [AC Milan] don't want it either.

"Platini is a good man and a real football man. We congratulate him on his appointment.

"But he must know there isn't another competition like the Champions League in the world and we don't see the need to change it."