Soccer Portal

Barclays Premier League Champions Chelsea, have decided to sever their ties with Michael Ballack and Joe Cole, who are both out of contract in the summer. Granted, the departure of Ballack is less of a surprise than that of Joe Cole, as the German star is getting on in terms of football years. But Ballack, who missed out on the chance of captaining his nation at South Africa 2010 due to an injury, was apparently keen to stay at Stamford Bridge, but there has been little movement from a rigid Chelsea hierarchy. Ballack apparently told the club that he would have been happy to take a pay cut, as well as take just a one year deal to stay in London, but the Blues simply were not interested in taking the bait, which raises some serious questions about the mentality in the board room.

Sure, owner Roman Abramovic is paying the bills, but Ballack is still a top performer, and showed his extra worth by filling in an unfamiliar defensive midfield role at the end of Chelsea’s domestic season. One wonders if this is a financial decision more than a footballing one, as it is hard to picture Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti looking around the changing room and deciding that Michael Ballack isn’t worth dressing, even as substitute for next season. A player who offers to take a pay cut, in the modern of age of getting as much money as you can for as little work as possible, speaks volumes for Germany’s most famous export. Perhaps his injury, combined with his age, has meant that Abramovic doesn’t want to risk paying for a potential lame horse for next season. That’s understandable, but the release of a world class international star for nothing, is not. Surely Ballack’s experience must count for something, and it is easy to see why players have a problem with staying loyal to clubs, when the clubs themselves don’t see players, but instead commodities wearing the team colours.

While Ballack’s age and injury may have worked against him in securing a new contract, the release of Joe Cole is even more baffling. This may be another case of Abramovic being hard headed, as he was reportedly infuriated by Cole’s diligence in not wavering from his contract demands. Yes, Joe Cole missed a year of football, and that is a lot of sick pay to cough up, but Cole is pushing for an England start at the World Cup, and he still has some good years in front of him. Is this a case of Abramovic simply not backing down, and potentially hurting Chelsea on the football field? Cole, as proven when playing his way back to fitness, is a spark of energy and creation. Why let him walk and then have to try and fill the squad out by paying for an unknown quantity? Is there really another club in the Premier league that would let an England international walk out of their ranks for free?