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England international, Ashley Cole has rejected a new one-year contract offered him by Chelsea and could leave in January if no agreement is reached.
The club has a policy that anyone who is over 30 years of age is offered a short-term new contract, a source told ESPN and Ashley is 31, very fit and still at his peak but so far all that has been offered is a one-year deal. Whether that included a pay rise is irrelevant as Ashley was hoping for more than one extra year.
Similar incident
It would be recalled that it was this policy that resulted in Didier Drogba leaving the club in the summer and it could mean Ashley leaving come January.
Cole, 31, earns around £130,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge and his old Chelsea boss
Jose Mourinho, now at Real Madrid, is keeping a close eye on developments, while Carlo Ancelotti, would willingly take him to PSG should Chelsea fail to meet his demands before the England left-back would become a free agent.
Blues manager Roberto Di Matteo was on Sunday "optimistic" that Cole's contract would be sorted out and that he will stay; however, the offer of a one-year deal has been firmly rejected, and it is the length of any new contract that is presently the sticking point.
As it stands, Ashley is free to talk to clubs and to actually sign for a new club from January onwards unless something changes from Chelsea's end.
