Official: Ballack and Joe Cole released!

[We Hate Scouse 10,261]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article7146441.ece

Chelsea will confirm the imminent departures of Joe Cole and Michael Ballack on Wednesday on free transfers after the pair failed to agree new contracts at Stamford Bridge.

The club have been negotiating with the players’ representatives over extensions to contracts that expire this summer for several months, but have been unable to agree terms, and the players will leave as free agents on July 1.

Chelsea’s surprise announcement will spark a scramble for their signatures, as despite falling out of favour in West London both players are very much in demand. Cole recovered from a disappointing domestic season to earn a place in England’s World Cup squad at the eleventh hour and is in contention to start their opening match of the tournament, against the United States on Saturday, while Ballack would have been in South Africa as Germany captain had he not suffered an ankle injury in Chelsea’s FA Cup Final win over Portsmouth.

Cole has attracted strong levels of interest from all of Chelsea’s leading rivals in the Premier League, with Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur set to follow up their initial inquiries over the next few days. Given Cole’s desire to stay in London and the appeal of being reunited with Harry Redknapp, White Hart Lane appears to be his most likely destination because Tottenham, unlike Arsenal and Liverpool, would have little problem matching his wage demands. An offer to work with Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford would, however, be hard to turn down.

Ballack will leave England after four seasons at Chelsea that, despite delivering one Premier League title and two FA Cups, he will look back on with some disappointment. He, too, will have no shortage of suitors. Werder Bremen have made clear their desire to bring him back to Germany, and José Mourinho’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has made contact with his representatives to examine the possibility of Ballack joining Real Madrid.

Several wealthy clubs in the United Arab Emirates Pro League are also preparing to make him an offer should he decide to opt for a lower quality of football while remaining on high wages.

Cole’s future at Chelsea looked bleak for most of the season after contract talks broke down after Christmas. Cole had been holding out for a £20,000-a-week pay rise to £100,000, but Chelsea refused to budge, to such an extent that the initial offer of £85,000 a week was withdrawn.

Ballack, 33, was seeking a new two-year contract that would enable him to play on at the highest level until the 2012 European Championship, an even more important aspiration after missing the World Cup finals, whereas Chelsea were willing only to give him another year. Ballack offered to take a big pay cut and make the second year contingent upon him playing a large number of games next season, but Chelsea were not willing to back down.

Chelsea’s decision to release two of their senior players is the tangible evidence of long-professed desire for financial retrenchment of Roman Abramovich, the owner, taking effect, although it could end up costing them money in the short term. Carlo Ancelotti, the manager, is intending to promote five youngsters to the first team next season, but finding effective replacements for Cole and Ballack will not be cheap.

Does this mean Benayoun and Toure in?

Edited June 8, 2010 by we hate scouse

[ChelseaChick 430]

Omg I really don't want Joe to leave, im so upset. Why did he have to be so greedy

[DavidEU 2,023]

If Joe goes, its because he hasn't been good enough. Simple as.

[Swoopz 183]

Ballack, nooo

[cfc-meleady 192]

Not too bothered with either one leaving to be honest, Joe Cole was ridiculas to look for the wage as high as Lampard and Terry.

With Ballacks injury now and his age he's not worth his wage bill either.

[Term-X 7,891]

Gael Kakuta officially announced as the new number 10!

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/TheReservesProfiles/0,,10268~1131732,00.html

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Chelsea’s surprise announcement will spark a scramble for their signatures

Hope they're not refering to Joe.. This whole forum expected it to happen..

Disappointed about Ballack though, I thought he might have had another season to feature, ah well.

Good luck to both of them, they've given a great contribution to the success of the club.

[Badboy 1,526]

Yes yes yes hahahahahahahah our sqaud age average has magically come down hahahahahahahahahaha, Both very slow players and we don't need them. We have matic and kakuta who in my opinion will give us more impact in games. Joe cole is a complete tosser, and im happy his agent has fucked him over hahahhaaahha, up the chelsea !

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Chelsea make it official

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2067102,00.html

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2067096,00.html

Chelsea Football Club can confirm Michael Ballack will be leaving the club upon the expiration of his contract at the end of this month.

Chelsea Football Club can confirm that Joe Cole will be leaving the club upon the expiration of his contract at the end of this month.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Gutted about Ballack, fucking love the guy. Model professional and a consistent performer. I appreciate not everyone was a fan of his because he didn't score the goals we expected him to but over four seasons he put in some magical performances all across the midfield, and also as Chelsea captain on four or five occasions.

Joe Cole leaves as a Chelsea legend. I'm just as upset he's gone, but it was time to move on.

[NattyBlue 44]

Sad to see Joe Leave. Expected it but when it actually happens it's sad for me, he was one of my absolute favourite players and one of the best we had. Good luck Joe, great player and all the best.

Now with him and Ballack gone it's a big time for the club to consider who / if they will bring anyone in

[Steve 10,227]

Very sad to see both of these lads move on. Ballack is one of my Favorite footballers and i respect everything that he has done for this club. He always put in 100 percent and he deserves to leave the club with the Premiere League medal around his neck. I wish Michael all the best in all his Future endeavors.

Joey Cole i am very disappointed with. He will always be a Chelsea legend but at the end of the day he was just too greedy. When he was fit he was loved by everyone. But when he was not and was coming back from injuries the club stood by him and tried very hard to help him get back on the field. It would of been nice to see him pay back the clubs hard work with him over the years. That said lets remember joe for the great player he was. Anyone remember the 4-4 draw against spuds, what a class game he had!

"Being an injured Chelsea player is probably the second best job in the world behind being a Chelsea player."

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I agree about Cole. Very disappointed in him to be honest, I hope it doesn't taint his status as a cult hero at the club. He ought to have taken a leaf from Essien's book.

We all know he will regret leaving the club when we retain the league next season.

[Milan 17,836]

wtf? to be honest, I expected Joey to sign a new contract, so this is some shocking news.

I love both players and wish them best of luck. I'm very sad though.

[Steve 10,227]

At the end of the day this paves way for the likes of Gael Kakuta, Miroslav Stoch and Nemanja Matic to get some game time next season. Oh im excited for the future of this football club!!

[chrismada9 1,948]

I'm waking up to this??? This is absolutely disgusting!

For Ballack, I would have probably expected him to leave us because I wasn't too sure if he cut it well, particularly the season just gone. He was useful to us but nowhere near a decent player, he's 33 and for him to leave, I was partly expecting it.

For Joe however, Fucking pathetic! I would have expected Chelsea to have at least thought about releasing him after the World Cup, not before there being a chance of him having an exceptional world cup for England. I think it's poor management of our players. Not only that, it's a big English homegrown loss for the Champions League. Unless we're lining up an "english" replacement.

In conclusion, worst piece of news to wake up to! Gutted right now!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

We can't wait until after the World Cup, his contract expires on June 30th.

I'm glad they're both leaving because AT LAST the club is moving in the right direction. It means playing time for Matic, Stoch and Kakuta!

[zolayes 14,489]

I have more sympathy for Ballack ,,he was willing to take a pay cut in return for a two year contract ..agree with letting him go tho ...as far as Joe is concerned ..Im glad the saga

is over ,,the club treated him well .. after injury he was given time to recover ,,but his form certainly didnt justify a large pay increase and a guarantee of starting ..

as ive said before I thing he has taken bad advice ...In my eyes he has let himself and his many supporters down.