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Cole ready to call time on career

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Chelsea and England star Ashley Cole is considering retiring at the end of the season after being frozen out at Stamford Bridge by Jose Mourinho.

Cole is attracted by the prospect of ending a glittering 14-year career at the top by playing in next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

The 33-year-old will make history by becoming the first Englishman to play in four World Cup finals – a fitting way to hang up his boots having won a clean sweep of trophies with Arsenal and Chelsea – and more than 100 caps for his country.

Cole is widely regarded as the country’s best-ever left-back but has struggled to keep a place in Chelsea’s line-up this season under Mourinho.

In recent weeks, he has suffered the humiliation of seeing his place taken by unsung Spaniard Cesar Azpilicueta.

The Chelsea manager has already told Cole he will be on the bench for Monday night’s Premier League clash against his former club Arsenal.

The defender will stay at Chelsea for the remaining six months of his ÂŁ170,000-a-week contract despite fuming at his recent treatment by Mourinho. He believes he will be taken to Brazil by England manager Roy Hodgson regardless of how many games he gets for his club.

Longer term, he is reluctant to sign a new deal to become a bit-part player, with Chelsea having already achieved so much. The option of joining Spurs or Liverpool does not appeal and even the prospect of a year in the sun with an MLS club in America is not particularly enticing.He already has an estimated fortune of ÂŁ25million.

Although Cole has not made up his mind, friends say he is close to accepting he would prefer to quit at the top rather than struggling on.

Cole has already become one of the most successful English players of all-time having won three Premier League titles, a record seven FA Cups, a League Cup, Champions League and Europa League with Arsenal and Chelsea. He has won 106 England caps, putting him joint-fifth with Sir Bobby Charlton in the all-time list.

As well as playing at the World Cup in 2002, 2006 and 2010, he also enjoyed a legendary duel with Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2004. But Mourinho was unhappy at Cole being photographed in the same nightclub as Arsenal players last week, saying: ‘It was a free day for them, so I’m not a father. I’m a manager.

‘I can control what they do when they are with me. I cannot control what they do when they are not with me.’ Chelsea would like Cole to stay next season.

Written by Steve Milne – Have your say below 🙂

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