Chelsea have finally cleared Juan Sebastian Veron's £60,000-a-week wages off their books.

The Sunday Mirror says the 32-year-old Argentine midfielder is on a list of players released by the club, four years after joining in an £15million move from Manchester United.

Veron had already flopped at Old Trafford. He was United's club record signing at the time after joining them from Lazio in a £28.1m deal two years earlier.

But after two years of underachievement at the Bridge he was loaned to Inter Milan, where he spent 18 months, before he was loaned once again - this time to Argentine club Estudiantes, where he helped them to win the national championship last season.

It's believed Chelsea have subsidised his wages to encourage clubs to take him on loan.