So, which Ashley Cole story over the last couple of days is to be believed?
First we hear from The Sun how Chelsea are ready to offer the left-back a new deal worth £27million (£130,000 a week in real terms) in order to keep him at the club. Then we hear the 28 year olds wage demands could trigger the re-release of his autobiography – with the addition of an afterword.
The first version a couple of days ago suggested Chelsea are keen to ward offer potential offers from Barcelona, with our old friend the ‘source’ claiming “One of the first things Mr Ancelotti said when arriving at the club was not to allow Ashley to leave. He is aware that Barcelona rate him extremely highly and Guardiola sees the left-back position as the team’s only weak link. We’re extremely hopeful that Ashley will stay at Chelsea.”
The version the Sunday Mirror are going for though, is that whilst Cole wants the same sort of weekly pay as players like John Terry and Frank Lampard, that’d mean a rise of about £60,000 a week and Chelsea aren’t prepared to accommodate that sort of pay packet. So, rumour has it that not only Barcelona but Real Madrid are also waiting to step in with offers between £16-£20million.
Unfortunately, given Cole’s previous history, I’m not too confident about the true version of events.
Blue is the colour
