Footballers are not known for their intelligence, but Frank Lampard is not your average footballer.
Rumours that Frank Lampard is a genius began in 2009 when the results of his IQ test emerged. The Chelsea legend’s score was reported to be over 150, placing him in the top 0.1 percent of people in the United Kingdom. It also qualified him to be a member of the high-IQ society group Mensa.
The test was conducted by Bryan English, Chelsea’s medical director between 2005 and 2011.
Dr English seemed blown away by Lampard’s score when he looked through the team’s results.
“John Terry was in the top three, but Frank Lampard scored one of the highest sets of marks ever recorded by the company doing the tests, and higher than me,” Dr English was quoted as saying by the Daily Star.
According to the newspaper’s sources, Lampard’s score was “well over 150” on the IQ scale.
The high result did not go unnoticed in the Chelsea dressing room. Lampard apparently received a new nickname – “The Professor” – when his teammates found out his number.
Frank Lampard IQ
IQ tests are rated out of 200. If someone gets 0, they probably didn’t take the test. If someone gets 200, they’re probably the smartest person on the planet.
In 1916, the original Stanford–Binet IQ test classification deemed anyone scoring 141+ to be “near” genius or genius. That means if Frank Lampard lived a century ago, he would have been considered a genius with a score of 150+.
Nowadays, the word “genius” is no longer used to classify IQ test results. The term “very gifted” is used instead.
The fifth edition of the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale (released in 2003) reads as follows:
- 145–160 Very gifted or highly advanced
- 130–144 Gifted or very advanced
- 120–129 Superior
- 110–119 High average
- 90–109 Average
- 80–89 Low average
- 70–79 Borderline impaired or delayed
- 55–69 Mildly impaired or delayed
- 40–54 Moderately impaired or delayed
Technically, Frank Lampard is a genius if you go by the 1916 edition. In today’s world, he’s a very gifted/highly advanced human being.
Frank Lampard v Albert Einstein: A comparison
We know Frank Lampard is intelligent, but is he on the Albert Einstein level of intelligence?
The German-born theoretical physicist was estimated to have an IQ of 160, which means he was slightly smarter than Lampard. The former Chelsea midfielder’s official number is still not known, but it was definitely in the 150-159 range.
Frank Lampard
- IQ: 150+
- Major honours: Three Premier League titles, one Champions League
- Memorable moment: Two goals against Bolton Wanderers to clinch the 2004-05 title
Albert Einstein
- IQ: 160 (estimated)
- Major honours: 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Memorable moment: E = mc2
There’s a free unofficial IQ test over at free-iqtest if you want to have a crack at it. I scored 131, which quite honestly has made my day. I doubt it’s totally accurate (it’s just a quick 15-minute test), but I suggest checking it out to see if you’re up there with Albert and Frank!
Why did Chelsea test Frank Lampard’s IQ?
Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-1 in the 2007 League Cup final thanks to two goals from Didier Drogba. The match is probably best remembered for Abou Diaby knocking out John Terry with an accidental kick to the head.
Frank Lampard revealed in a Sky Sports interview that the IQ test was introduced following Terry’s serious injury.
“It was actually when John Terry got his head bang in the Arsenal League Cup final at the time, so we all went for IQ tests to get some sort of line so they could test us in future to see if we had lost [memory if we] took a head bang,” Lampard explained. “That was the reason for doing the whole team.”
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Lampard went on to confirm that he did indeed complete the test with a 150+ score.
“So I occasionally went and did it,” he added. “It was a typical IQ test, felt like a lot of memorise, memory stuff, went through it and came back with 150-something.”
Does Frank Lampard like being called a genius?
Naturally, Lampard has no problem with people knowing how clever he is.
The former England international jokingly announced his retirement from IQ tests when the interviewer mentioned that his intelligence is in the top half a percent of the population.
“It is good, it is good, and that’s another thing I get asked a lot. Again, people are really surprised about it! But no, I dunno, I’ve officially retired from my IQ test just in case I do another one and it turns out that that was just a mad number that came up.”
Asked if he plans to change career one day, the player-turned-manager made it clear he wants to remain in football.
“No, I don’t [have other career plans], actually,” Lampard added. “I’m gonna rest! Hopefully focus on my football and then have a good rest. I’m pretty proud of it but, as I say, I don’t know [how beneficial it is].”
Fun fact: I remember hearing a debate on the radio in 2009 about the “Is Frank Lampard a genius?” story. The presenter spent a full hour criticising Lampard for selfishly choosing to be a footballer instead of a doctor or surgeon!
Can Frank Lampard speak Latin?
There is no end to this man’s intelligence.
Lampard said in the same interview that he passed his Latin exam at school with flying colours.
“I got an A* in Latin, more through application than talent for Latin, I would say,” he recalled. “I don’t know how I did it. In terms of application, I was quite a good boy at school.
“I wanted to do well, I wanted to please my teachers and my parents back home, and Latin was one I think I probably just crammed in a lot of revision at the right time and managed to get an A*, which everyone is so surprised about!”
Decades later, the Premier League Hall of Famer can no longer recite Latin like he could as a student.
Does Frank Lampard consider himself a genius?
In 2014, Lampard co-commentated on a baseball game following his move to MLS club New York City FC.
The former West Ham United man was quick to play down his genius status when commentary duo Michael Kay and Paul O’Neill mentioned his IQ test results.
“I’m not a genius [laughs],” Lampard clarified. “The IQ went well but I’m not [a genius]. I’ve made lots of silly mistakes, I’m not sure I’m a genius, but I showed up well in the test!”
There we have it. Frank Lampard is a genius (based on 1916 rules), but he doesn’t think of himself that way.