Ashley Cole’s career at Chelsea appears to be over after he announced that he expects to leave the club this summer after eight years.
The left-back’s contract expires next month and although Chelsea’s manager, José Mourinho, has said he recommended that Cole be offered an extension, the player is preparing to move.
He tweeted: “I am weighing up my options for playing next season with my agent and sadly it does not look like chelsea will be one of them.”
It was not immediately clear whether that was because Chelsea have chosen not to give him a fresh deal or whether any terms on offer from the club do not match his requirements.
He added: “Thank u Chelsea FC for making my 8 years there a pleasure to work all the staff and players, we’ve been through a lot, good and bad. And of course the fans, how do I start, I can only say thank u for giving the boys confidence to win some amazing trophies … And now I’ll be looking for another journey in my life hope it can be like my others full of fun and of course WIN something.”
In February Mourinho said that Cole would be offered the chance to stay. “I like the player, I trust the player, I want him to stay,” the manager said. “The club is happy with that, so we don’t have a problem but [his decision] is another story that I cannot control.
“It’s another part of the story that doesn’t depend on us. Yes, he has [a future here] but maybe Thierry has a better proposal in New York.”
That was a reference to expected interest in the 33-year-old from New York Red Bulls, where Cole’s former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry plays.
Cole has not been able to hold down a place in Chelsea’s first team this season, having fallen behind César Azpilicueta in the pecking order. He did, though, start three key matches towards the end of the campaign, beginning both legs of the Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid and the Premier League win at Liverpool.
Cole retired from international football this month after being left out of England’s World Cup squad. He joined Chelsea from Arsenal in an exchange for William Gallas and £5m in 2006 and has played 338 matches for the club.
