Cole to become world's highest-paid defender after agreeing Chelsea deal
Ashley Cole will on Monday sign a new contract with Chelsea that will see the England international become the highest-paid defender in world football, the Daily Mail has reported.
Cole’s one-year contract extension means the left-back will earn £200,000 per week, the newspaper adds, and is expected to be finalised ahead of Wednesday’s Capital One Cup semi-final second-leg against Swansea City.
It was thought that Cole’s time at Chelsea would come to an end this summer when his existing contract expired, but Chelsea have had a change of heart and tied down the former Arsenal player for at least another 12 months.
The Mail adds that the reason for Chelsea’s revised stance is the potential cost of replacing the 32-year-old in the summer. To sign a left-back of similar calibre would mean an outlay of more than £15m, particularly because Cole’s anticipated in-house replacement, Ryan Bertrand, does not appear ready to step into his teammate’s shoes.
Cole moved to Chelsea from the Gunners in 2006, signed by former manager Jose Mourinho. Cole’s representatives held talks regarding a re-union with Mourinho at Real Madrid, as well as another former Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelotti, now in charge at Paris Saint-Germain.
In his six-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, Cole has played almost 300 games, scoring seven goals, and winning the Premier League in 2009/10, the FA Cup on four occasions and, in 2012, the Champions League.
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