Even after the obscene amount of money Real Madrid have spent so far since the close of season, rumour has it they’re wetting themselves at the prospect of slinging some of their millions Chelsea’s way – for Ashley Cole.

Apparently, the Chelsea left-back has turned down the offer of a new deal because it’d leave him about £30,000 shy of our top earners. I won’t get too carried away by a story in The Sun but I suppose there’s a bit of me thinking this is ‘Cashley’ we’re talking about here, so it’s little wonder it’s got Real’s attention as well.

Anyway, our old friend ‘the source’ reliably informs us “Ashley loves Chelsea and is genuinely excited about working with new boss Carlo Ancelotti.  He wants to give the best years of his career to the club but the deal has to be right for such an important contract.  He needs to feel as valued as any of the club’s other top players.”

And so, I suppose if we’re offering him some paltry deal where we expect him to scrape by on a measly £100,000 a week, then it’s not really surprising Pellegrini is rumoured to be sniffing around.

Filed under: Current Players, Rumours