News broke yesterday that Ashley Cole had terminated his contract with Roma. The scuttlebutt is that this clears the way for Cole to move the LA Galaxy.
The former England international signed with Roma in Summer 2014 after his contract at Chelsea expired. The deal was initially for two years, but Cole had not played in a competitive first team fixture in ten months. His contract was set to expire this summer, and despite his frustration with the lack of opportunities Cole seemed resigned to running out the clock. But various reports suggest that the Galaxy approached Cole and convinced him to swap out the warm weather and glamor of Rome for… the warm weather and glamor of Los Angeles.
The Galaxy reportedly first approached Cole a year and a half ago before his move to Roma, but the outgoing Chelsea fullback said he was “not ready to relax on a beach yet.”
His departure from Roma continues his trend of relatively low-key exits from his clubs. Arsenal low-balled a contract extension offer in 2006— the bookend to an increasingly acrimonious relationship— and didn’t seem bothered to let one of their key first-team players walk to a London rivalry for practically nothing. A year and a half ago, Cole was one of a few club veterans (along with current NYCFC man Frank Lampard) that Chelsea allowed to leave on a free transfer as Mourinho set about clearing the decks to build what would ultimately be the title-winning team of 2014-15.