Chelsea release Joe Cole, Michael Ballack and Juliano Belletti

[HangTheDJ]

Agree ^

He had talks with Roma didn't he? Hope he ends up there.

[HangTheDJ]

Oh, as for the thread. Bait Chelsea in for Milner after this. Fingers crossed it drives the price up.

[Bruno Di Gradi]

ballack back to bayern or leverkusen?

[Heero Yuy]

ballacks sh*t. for chelsea anyway

This

was never the player he was at Bayern, wouldn't be surprised if he ended up back there.

[TF S4DK]

MICHAEL BALLACK TO LEAVE CHELSEA

Posted on: Wed 09 Jun 2010

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

The midfielder has spent four years at Chelsea, and all at the club would like to place on record our thanks for his service and wish him luck for the future.

Having arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2006 as a free agent, Michael leaves us in the same manner after making 167 appearances (27 as substitute) and scoring 26 goals.

It was from Bayern Munich in his native Germany that he joined Chelsea, another star name to join Andriy Shevchenko at Stamford Bridge, though it was Ballack who would settle more comfortably to life in England.

Although he never managed to sustain the pre-Chelsea record of a goal every two games or so, his strong character, professionalism and will to win made him a popular character on and off the pitch - in a first season of acclimatisation he made key contributions at big moments, notably in the Carling Cup Final and the FA Cup semi, though ankle injury would keep him from the Final.

It was not until December of his second season he would feature again, but he hit the ground running and even took the captaincy with others either injured, suspended or at the 2008 African Nations. At this time Ballack scored important goals to haul us back into the title race, and smashed a penalty past Manchester United to bring us almost level with the eventual champions.

The second Champions League Final defeat of his career followed before an excellent Euro 2008, and he returned hopeful of a strong campaign with Chelsea, though another injury, this time to his feet, kept him out for a number of weeks during 2008/09 before a return to form and fitness under Guus Hiddink that helped secure the FA Cup.

Under Carlo Ancelotti he fitted in well to the midfield but was never an automatic selection, though early injury to Michael Essien provided less competition, before John Mikel Obi was ruled out for the final month of the season.

It was sad that on the day Ballack became the first German to win the Double in England, he was forced off in the Cup Final with ankle ligament damage that would force a withdrawal from the World Cup.

Michael will remain at Cobham for treatment until his injury is healed, but he will become a free agent as of July 1.

[TF S4DK]

JOE COLE TO LEAVE CHELSEA

Posted on: Wed 09 Jun 2010

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.

It brings to an end Joe's seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge, and we would like to thank him for his dedicated years of service and wish him well in his future career.

Cole arrived here in the summer of 2003, a £6.6 million signing from West Ham United funded shortly after Roman Abramovich's takeover of the club, though it was unclear how his skills would best be utilised under the guidance of Claudio Ranieri.

Things became a lot clearer when Jose Mourinho took over, implementing a devastating 4-3-3 system that saw his wide men run riot - while Joe was only rarely preferred to Damien Duff or Arjen Robben, he popped up with a number of crucial goals and stepped in well to cover Robben's injury problems, securing first a Carling Cup (his first medal in professional football) and then Chelsea's first championship in 50 years.

The next season saw perhaps the best form of his career as we surged to another title, the standout memory of the season being the fine individual goal that bamboozled Manchester United's defence and all but wrapped up a back-to-back title win.

Injury would dominate his 2006/07 campaign but he returned fit for 2007/08, and though Mourinho departed Joe took on further responsibility, again scoring crucial goals to keep us in the title race, earning the Chelsea Player of the Year award to recognise his efforts.

A ruptured cruciate ligament in January 2009 saw him miss eight months before a sparkling return against Queens Park Rangers in the Carling Cup, where he also wore the captain's armband.

After a season of being in and out of the starting line-up as he worked his way back to complete fitness, the last of Joe's 39 Chelsea goals came at Old Trafford in April. It was a delicate flick that summed him up as a player and helped propel us back to the top of the Barclays Premier League where we would stay until the end of the season.

In total, he played 282 times for Chelsea, 93 as a substitute. He becomes a free agent when his contract expires at the end of the month.

[TF S4DK]

Harry Redknapp on Talksport now says Joe Cole, according to his agent (obviously 'arry) has not made up his mind yet. Seems the issue that Chelsea & Arsenal both have is his wage demands.

Tottenham leading the odds, but again don't Tottenham have a wage structure even lower than Arsenal's.

[TF S4DK]

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has admitted that a deal to sign Chelsea's Joe Cole is "not impossible", but that the midfielder's agent has said no moves will be discussed until after the World Cup.

Redknapp, responding to questions about reports linking him with the England midfielder, told Talksport: "It's not impossible. I think that Daniel [Levy], the chairman, has spoken to Joe's agent and he said that Joe didn't want to discuss any moves until after the World Cup. Then he's going to look at his options.

"But he's told us that he hasn't decided anything yet and he hasn't done anything definite. So there's a chance.

"I suppose it all depends on the financial side of it and everything else, but according to his agent he's not made up his mind yet."

Michael Ballack's agent Michael Becker, meanwhile, said his client was "completely surprised" to be told he will follow Cole out of Chelsea this summer.

Becker told German broadcaster RTL Ballack would have been willing to take a pay cut to stay with Chelsea and that he would even have accepted a one-year deal with an option for a second year based on appearances. "He has not spoken to Chelsea for three months," said Becker.

Lol Ballack got parred.

[Guest Wheres Wally]

pool should go in for ballack tbh

[Lenny]

Swear Rsonist said Ledley was their highest paid player, 50k a week?

[The King]

Surely only us & Shitty can afford Cole's wages.

[TF S4DK]

BELLETTI TO LEAVE

Posted on: Wed 09 Jun 2010

Juliano Belletti joins Joe Cole and Michael Ballack as players leaving the club when current contracts run out at the end of this month.

Signed as an attacking right-back by Jose Mourinho in August 2007, for the second and third of his three years at Chelsea Belletti was more likely to be seen in midfield.

He made that positional change under the management of Luiz Felipe Scolari who remembered the player's aptitude for the role from their days back in Brazil.

Belletti arrived at Stamford Bridge for an undisclosed fee with a World Cup winners' medal and a winning goal in a Champions League Final to his name. He was one of several to have made the move between Barcelona and Chelsea in the past two decades.

Mourinho lasted only a matter of weeks into Belletti's stay, but the player quickly demonstrated his abilities during his first season in England with two stunning Premier League strikes - against Wigan and Tottenham - the latter of which won the Chelsea Goal of the Season award for 2007/08.

He faced tough competition from Paulo Ferreira and later Michael Essien to make the right-back berth his own that year but a total of 38 (six as sub) appearances suggest he was the favoured choice, particularly at Stamford Bridge.

It was as a sub that Belletti made his mark in the Champions League Final, replacing Claude Makelele in the last minute of extra time, before coolly slotting home a penalty in the shootout, his first touch, only to see the side lose out.

The arrival of Jose Bosingwa during the summer that followed saw Belletti, who was turning 32, lose his status as the choice when an attack-minded right-back was needed and he remained in England with the reserves when the first-team embarked on pre-season tour. However within weeks of the start of the 2008/09 campaign he was asked to play holding midfielder against Tottenham and cemented his popularity by scoring against big local rivals for a second season running, earning his own White-Stripes-inspired song.

He also played as an attack-minded right midfielder in a season that yielded 9+25 appearances and three goals, including one in a last-gasp turnaround against Stoke at home.

Last season's 13+9 games were a mix of right-back and midfield appearances. He started the big home wins over Blackburn, Wolves and Sunderland but unfortunately his last significant act was conceding a Cup Final penalty at Wembley. Happily Petr Cech negated its impact. He leaves the club with FA Cup and Premier League winners' medals.

A thoughtful and popular figure, Chelsea Football Club would like to thank Juliano for his contribution. He played 54+40 games and scored five goals.

[Steven]

Ballack played for Chelsea?

[HangTheDJ]

Hill-Wood confirms Arsenal NOT interested in Joe Cole

Okay enough of this Cesc Fabregas pursuit and insider source(s) speculation, we now have a vivid picture of this purported transfer as Arsenal' chairman Peter Hill-Wood formally rules out the possibility of Joe Cole joining Arsenal this summer.

Temporarily banish thoughts of injuries, current form and other relevant things you might have used as a yardstick for measuring the player's capability. Because I think there is absolutely no doubt that Joe Cole is one of the best players not only in England, but also in Europe and possibly the globe, I'm not exaggerating even though my utterances might suggest otherwise.

But the probability of Arsenal snapping Cole for free from Chelsea was at a paltry 2/10, considering the rivalry between both giants and player loyalty as displayed fervently by some stars e.g Fabregas, Lampard, Clichy, Arteta and others too numerous to mention. This speculative transfer was doomed to fail from the onset.

Yesterday alone I read a couple of exclusives - and I must admit, this reports had an iota of truth in them and I can vouch for the authenticity of their write-ups not because they were written by my mates but for the simple reason that things and transfers in particular are subject to last minute scrutiny, but how things quickly change? I don't know - after all Chelsea allegedly confirmed his departure and also made sure he won't leave Stamford Bridge alone with Germany's captain Michael Ballack also shown the exit at the club.

There was no possible way people were going to let Arsenal, who are the supposed front runner for his signature breath without difficulty.

Even the Metro reported exclusively yesterday that Cole's representatives have already been in preliminary discussions with Arsenal over the possibility of tying up a three-year deal, after contract talks with Chelsea stalled.

Several other clubs, including the Gunners' north London rivals Spurs and big-spending Manchester City, have also been in touch with the player to sound him out about a possible switch.

But like I said the picture is clearer now Arsenal's chairman Peter Hill-Wood confirmed that during discussions with Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis "his name never came up at all" which indirectly means the trio are planning a summer swoop that simply put 'didn't make room for Cole' whose much anticipated arrival could have added a different dimension to our attacking style of play.

Hill-Wood said: "I had a long conversation with (chief executive) Ivan Gazidis, who had been with Arsene Wenger and his name never came up at all."

[TF S4DK]

However Wenger did mention Cole yesterday...

"I like him as a player because when he played against us he always did a lot of damage against Arsenal," he explained.

"He can create impact through his creative play. He can dribble, he can pass, he can score goals."

[TF S4DK]

Michael Ballack outlined his determination to prove Chelsea wrong last night and blamed Roman Abramovich for the club’s decision to release him.

In an exclusive interview, Ballack, who will be writing a weekly column for The Times throughout the World Cup, expressed no bitterness at being let go and thanked everyone at Stamford Bridge for their support.

It can be revealed that Carlo Ancelotti, the manager, recommended to Chelsea’s board that Ballack should be the first player awarded a new contract this summer, but was overruled by Abramovich.

The Chelsea owner suspended negotiations with all the club’s out-of-contract players after their Champions League elimination at the round-of-16 stage by Inter Milan in March and they were never reopened, despite claims from the board that it would talk to Ballack and Joe Cole after the FA Cup Final last month.

Ballack, 33, is at a loss to explain why he was shown the door after playing a vital role in helping Chelsea to win the Double for the first time in their history, but believes that the decision was taken by Abramovich himself. It is understood that the Russian decided to have a squad clearout after feeling humiliated by the defeat against Inter, coached by José Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager.

Chelsea’s official explanation for the departures of Ballack and Cole is that they did not offer value for money, indicating that the club’s fans should not expect any high-profile replacements.

“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t come together, but I have to put it behind me,” Ballack said. “I’ve known for a while that the negotiations had stopped and it’s time to move on. I have to find a new club and carry on with my career.

“Chelsea was always my first choice as I had four great years at the club and enjoyed every minute, but it was not to be. It’s still my first choice, even now, but it was not up to me. The decision was down to Roman.”

Ballack’s rejection has heightened the Germany captain’s determination to extend his career, particularly after being forced to sit out the World Cup because of the ankle injury sustained as a result of Kevin-Prince Boateng’s tackle in the Cup Final.

His main target is to carry on playing for Germany until the 2012 European Championship and he is hopeful of signing a two-year contract with a Bundesliga club.

“To end my career like this is not an option,” Ballack said. “I want to play for at least two more years at the highest level so I can play for Germany at the European Championship.

“I’ve played in three Euros and two World Cups so know how special they are and can’t end like this. I’m even more determined to carry on since I’ve been injured and the motivation is growing inside me every single day.

“I’m not yet ready to ‘retire’ by going to the United States or Dubai and want to stay in Europe. I’m a proud German who always enjoyed living there, so have some options back home.”

Ballack said he was grateful to all the players, managers and fans he encountered during four years at Chelsea, but particularly Ancelotti, with whom he had dinner while on holiday in Miami this week. “We have a great relationship and I know he respected me as a player,” Ballack said.

“I loved the club. They always made me feel welcome and there was a special atmosphere in the team. We won three FA Cups and the Premier League in four years, but winning the Double this season was unbelievable as it was a real piece of history.

“Chelsea do not have the history of Liverpool or Manchester United but are growing as a club. I wish them well for the future.”

[Mister Man]

i would happily have joe cole at united and let him start over park or that obertan

[The Infamous]

Lucas is better than Ballack in this league anyways

Do not want

[Captain Planet]

Arsenal fans,

Ballack?

Do you think Wenger will?

Do you want?

[TF S4DK]

No and No.

[Reivax ™]

I hope J.Cole goes to AC Milan

it would beneficial for him.