Intro:

Former Chelsea central midfielder Frank Lampard, 36, denies abusing American tourists stranded at Heathrow in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The 36-year-old was speaking after joining Major League Soccer side New York City FC on a free transfer and signing a two-year deal.

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (English) Frank Lampard:

"I was naive and a young boy at the time and [I] have some regrets for the fact that I was out on a day [on September 11] I shouldn't have been and I wouldn't be if it was today, put it that way, with experience but what I did want to say was that I categorically didn't insult anyone, set out to insult anyone, behave badly in front of Americans or in fact anyone. I was very sensitive to the issue and the tragedy."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Frank Lampard:

"Well, why not choose New York City? For me, talking about it ticking all the boxes, personally for me I think this [move] does exactly the same. It's a very, very exciting challenge for me in life terms. I had a fantastic 13 years at Chelsea. I can look back on that with immense pride but it was certainly, I feel, a good time for probably myself and for Chelsea that I moved on. Having spoke to the people from the club here [New York City] and seen the vision -- and I'm not talking about the fact of a new franchise, trying to throw different things and hoping it comes off -- I seen a real long-term plan from everyone involved in the club and I wanted to be part of that. I want to test myself, I want to carry on challenging myself, I want to be that leader, I want to be that person and not just something on the pitch here but someone off the pitch that can help these things [success] happen."