Frank Lampard announced Monday that he will leave New York City F.C. when his contract expires at the end of the year, ending his late-starting and sometimes exasperating two-year M.L.S. tenure.
Lampard, 38, was among the first players signed by New York City F.C. before it joined the league for the 2015 season, and he was touted as an experienced midfield leader with a championship-winning résumé. But Lampard spent considerable time on the sideline nursing injuries — he appeared in only 31 of N.Y.C.F.C.’s 70 matches over two seasons — which made his battles with fitness, not his 15 goals, his M.