The Chelsea midfield duo join around 500 players who have already been released by their clubs this summer. After Manchester City released Benjani, Martin Petrov and Sylvinho, Cole and Ballack join the list of players looking for a new club. Last week, the Blues’ assistant manager Ray Wilkins stated that he and gaffer Carlo Ancelotti sincerely hoped that Cole would stay at the club, calling him a ‘smashing guy and a wonderful footballer.’

But the Englishman turned down a 90,000 pound a week contract and asked for one worth 150,000 pounds a week, the amount earned by John Terry and Frank Lampard, the highest-paid footballers at the club. But Chelsea were not ready to give that to him and all talks between the two parties stalled and Cole was declared free to leave the club on July the 1st on a free transfer.

He has been linked to various clubs, including the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp coached Cole in his West Ham days and is very keen to land the 28 year-old at White Hart Lane.

Rednapp said, ‘When Joe returns from the World Cup, I would like to talk to him about coming to Spurs.’

Cole joined Chelsea in 2003 from West Ham United for 6.6 million pounds, and in his seven seasons at the Bridge, he won three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, two League Cups and two Community Shields.

German captain Michael Ballack will also be leaving the English champions in the summer, after the club refused to hand him a one year extension on his deal.

Ballack will miss the World Cup after sustaining an injury in the FA Cup final against Portsmouth, the last match of his Chelsea career.

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, the man who brought Ballack to London from Bayern Munich is reportedly interested in re-uniting himself with the 33 year-old by offering him a contract at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Dubai clubs Al Wasl and Al Shabab are also said to be interested in signing the German.

Ballack enjoyed a successful spell at Chelsea, winning the FA Cup and League Cup in his first ever season with the Blues. The next year, Chelsea were unable to win a single competition, even though they reached two finals and took the title race down to the last day.

He won another FA Cup in the 2008-09 campaign, before being a part of the team to win an unprecedented double of the Premier League and FA Cup last season.

Cole and Ballack join big names including Fabio Aurelio, Thierry Henry, William Gallas, David James, Juliano Belletti, Mikael Silvestre, Sol Campbell and Kris Boyd in the long list of free agents up for grabs this summer, and after the World Cup, there is sure to be huge rush in the transfer market.

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